Chased
by H3l3n3
Summary: Chasing or being chased. Being the hunter or the prey. Don and Charlie are not too sure where they stand. One thing is certain: life is never dull when the Eppes brothers are around. Mainly Don:whump of course but Ian and Charlie were not spared either.
1. Chapter 1

CHASED

Chasing or being chased. Being the hunter or the prey. Don and Charlie are not too sure where they stand. One thing is certain: life is never dull when the Eppes brothers are around. Mainly Don:whump, of course, but Ian and Charlie were not spared either.

Disclaimer: I don't own Numb3rs. If I did, unlike CBS, I would never think of stopping the show.

Beta: Thank you to Rinne for teaching me the rules of punctuation ;-))

Spoilers: "Shadow markets" from Season 6.

**.**

**CHAPTER ONE**

"They turned left!" Ian Edgerton shouted.

The SUV brutally veered to the left and the sniper held on tight to the handle above the door while his left hand firmly grabbed the dashboard. Don deftly steadied the wheel and carried on the pursuit. Ian looked back until he saw the other SUVs entering the track. David and Liz were trying their best to keep up with their boss. Reassured that the rest of the team was still following, he focused his attention back on the road to guide Don the best he could. The road had turned into a potholed and stony track, making the drive more and more difficult and perilous, demanding an extreme concentration and the best driving skills from the agent. The slightest mistake could send them off the road with dramatic consequences: driving at 60 mph on a bumpy track didn't leave them with much margin of error.

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The chase had started in LA an hour earlier. Five warehouses had been broken into over the previous two weeks and every time, the robbers had taken software and electronic devices. LAPD had contacted the FBI when a security guard had been killed during the last robbery. At Don's request, Charlie and Amita had analyzed the robberies and noticed that the stolen devices could all be used to steal personal information on bank accounts. Don decided to set up a trap, passing the word amongst the professionals that a new chip designed to prevent identity theft in banking transactions had just been released and stored in a warehouse in the outskirts of LA, waiting to be distributed to banks and major stores.

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After three days of surveillance, their patience had finally paid off. David and Colby were on stakeout in their car, hidden in a shadowy area, when they noticed a vehicle approaching very slowly then leaving before driving by again. This time, the van was joined by two large pickups.

"Don! We have three suspect vehicles," Colby announced, talking into the mic attached to his wrist while David was taking pictures of the men. "Yep, they're definitely our guys. Six of them. Armed with machine guns."

"Yeah, I can see them. Don't move until I say so. Liz, Nikki, you're in place?"

"We're ready, Don," Liz confirmed.

"King?"

"My men are in position. We're awaiting your orders, Eppes."

The team leader was posted in a building a little down the road, opposite the warehouse. He lowered his binoculars and turned to Ian Edgerton. "You want to come?"

Ian smiled, grabbed his rifle and followed the agent. It was his day off and he had come to see Nikki. When the young woman informed him of the trap, he had decided to come along.

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After disabling the alarm system, the robbers separated to inspect the piles of boxes and containersin search of the ones containing the chips.

"Hey! I think I found them. Bring the reader," one of the men ordered. A second man jogged towards him, carrying a barcode reader and swept it over the box.

"Yeah, that's the right load! Come on, hurry up! We have five minutes until the next patrol."

Led by Don, the FBI and SWAT groups entered the warehouse silently and spread out. When they were close enough, Don gave the signal.

"FBI ! Freeze!" the agents shouted, running towards the gang.

Surprised, the six men turned around then, dropping the boxes they were carrying, and started to scatter to take cover behind the large containers before starting to shoot at the agents. Two of the robbers were not quick enough to hide and were shot dead.

"I surrender! I surrender, don't shoot!" a terrified voice shouted.

"Put your gun down, slide it toward us and show yourself! Slowly!" David ordered.

The gun was slid on the floor in the direction of the agents as instructed and a short silhouette wearing a hoody moved forward, slowly, hands as high as he could.

At that moment, a gun shot echoed and one of the light bulbs exploded, plunging a part of the warehouse into the darkness. Taking advantage of the confusion, three men rushed outside through a back door, immediately chased by Don and Ian.

"Liz! We've got two runners! They're coming your way!" Colby shouted into his comm.

"I can't see them, Colby."

"They took the back exit!"

"Still can't see them!"

"King, secure the perimeter! David, Colby, take the front door!" Don shouted as he reached the back door, followed by Ian. "Liz! What's your position?"

"Still covering the back but... I can't see anyone. The road is clear... Wait! They went the other way! They have a car... Don! They're just behind you!" Liz warned desperately into her comm.

Don and Ian whipped their heads around just in time to see a car speeding toward them. The two men threw themselves to the side of the roadto avoid being run over. They got up and sprinted to their SUV and started chasing the vehicle, closely followed by David and Liz.

The fugitives drove out of town and soon reached the Santa Monica Mountains, leaving the main road.

"What the hell are they doing?" David muttered, gripping the steering wheel nervously, trying to keep up with the two vehicles in front of him. "Don's mad. If he carries on like that, he's going to overturn!"

"Yeah, well maybe you should slow down a bit if we don't want that to happen to us," Colby commented tensely. He glanced quickly in the outside mirror to check that Liz and Nikki were still behind.

The thick clouds of dust created by the cars were making the visibility on the road almost nil and David had to decelerate to keep control of his vehicle, increasing the gap even more between him and Don.

"Careful! They stopped!" Colby shouted suddenly.

David just had the time to slam on the brakes and do a controlled spin, missing Don's car by inches. The fugitives' vehicle had also stopped. The two agents leaped outside their car, drawing their guns just as Liz arrived.

"They're gone," Colby informed them after checking the two vehicles.

The group was standing at the top of a steep slide covered with trees and bushes. Somewhere below, they could hear the sound of a pursuit and gun shots but the vegetation was too dense for them to see the five men.

David raised his mic to his mouth. "Don? Can you hear me? Which way did you go?"

Don's slightly uneven voice informed him that his boss was sprinting. "Straight down... They..." A gun shot interrupted the explanation.

"Don? You okay?"

"... fine. They're heading northwest. "

"We're on our way," David confirmed, gesturing to the others to follow him.

"Ian's with you?" Nikki asked as casually as possible.

"Yeah..." More gun shots. "...still alive and in one piece," Don teased her before becoming serious again. "Careful ! They've..." The rest of his sentence was covered by the sound of a machine gun.

"Don?... Don? Damn it!" David swore under his breath when he got no reply. "We're right behind you, Don. Hold on!"

The four agents started to race down the hill as fast as they could, heading northwest as Don had instructed them, getting closer to the sounds of the incessant shooting.

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Don and Ian ducked quickly then hid behind large bushes to avoid the bullets. Ian suddenly decided that enough was enough. He didn't like running. Walking for days to hunt a fugitive, he didn't mind but running, no! Especially while being shot at. With a knee on the ground to steady him, he raised his rifle, waited until he had a clear view on one of the men and pulled the trigger. The man looked as if he had lost his footing and slid down the hill, his body stopping a few yards below when his foot got tangled in roots. Don, surprised, briefly turned towards the sniper then resumed his descent. When he reached the man Ian had shot, he grabbed his gun, checked his pulse then looked at Ian, shaking his head to inform him that the man was dead.

"Two left," muttered the sniper under his breath.

Don sped up and Ian tried to keep up with the agent but it was becoming more and more difficult to run as the ground was getting steeper and slippery. At some point, Ian stepped on several loose pebbles and stumbled. Instinctively, he reached out and grabbed Don's arm in front of him. Surprised, the agent fought to keep his balance but Ian dragged him down with him and both men started to roll down the hill, unable to avoid the roots, stones and bushes.

Their falls were finally – but brutally - stopped by a large tree. Don was the first to bump into it. He was trying to stand up when Ian's weight slammed him back against the trunk, sending him back to the ground.

"There!" Colby shouted, pointing his finger at the two men. The four agents rushed towards them, holding on to each other, trying not to fall over.

"You okay, guys?" David asked.

Don, a little groggy, pushed himself up on his hands and knees. "Don't let them escape!" he ordered. The team, except Nikki, carried on the chase.

Ian carefully got to his feet and leaned against the tree that had stopped them. He bent over to help Don stand up. The team leader blinked several times to refocus and picked up his gun that he had let go when Ian's body had slammed him against the tree.

"You alright?" he asked the sniper.

One hand against the tree to keep his balance, Ian carefully put his weight on his foot and swore.

"Don't move. You can't run with that ankle. Nikki, you stay with him," Don ordered before resuming his descent.

He caught up withhis team on a road several yards further. The agents were shooting desperately at a vehicle driving away at top speed.

"A car was waiting for them, Don!" David informed him, furious.

"They had planned their escape. They lured us away from our cars so we had no means to chase them," Liz stated.

"Damn it!" Don shouted, frustrated. "Somebody got the plate?"

"Partial only," David confirmed as he took out his phone to call the Bureau.

Nikki, a hand around Ian's waist to help him walk, joined them on the road.

"How's your ankle?" Liz asked Ian, observing that he was limping.

"Sore but not broken," Nikki replied for him. She looked at Ian and smiled. "He's gonna live. He just needs some TLC."

"And I'm sure you can help with that," Colby teased her.

Nikki was about to answer when they noticed Don still staring at the car that was driving off rapidly.

"I'm sorry, Eppes," Edgerton apologized.

Don shook his head. "Not your fault. They had a back-up plan and I should've anticipated it. If someone's to blame, it's me."

"Oh! Here we go again! Agent Eppes feeling guilty for something he's not responsible for... Don, when will you learn that you cannot control everything?" Liz chided him.

_Never,_ thought David but he kept it to himself. His boss was obviously not in a mood to hear the truth.

Suddenly a deafening explosion startled them. They watched, stunned, as a large cloud of black smoke and flames rose in the air. A second explosion disintegrated the fugitives' car, propelling parts of the vehicle inevery direction like deadly spears.

"Something tells me that wasn't part of their escape plan," Ian said dryly.

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"Wow, what happened to you?"

Ian looked at Charlie, a little smirk in his eyes. "You should see your brother," he replied with an enigmatic smile before heading to the break room, limping slightly.

Charlie frowned and turned to David. "They fought?" he asked in disbelief.

"No, they fell. Actually Ian fell and dragged Don down with him."

"Oh!... And where's Don now?" the professor asked, a little concerned not to see his brother. He wasn't in the hospital, was he?

"He stopped at your place to get changed."

Charlie's eyes widened. "It was that bad?"

"Mmm! Hmm... And I'm not telling you about his mood."

"Things didn't go well at the warehouse then?"

"To say the least. Fancy a coffee? We're gonna need your help."

"Yeah... Sure." Charlie frowned and followed the agent to the break room. He had the feeling that the next few hours were going to be very busy.

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Don opened the front door of the craftsman house silently and walked in. He could hear his father talking in the living-room and didn't want to alert him to his own presence. He had almost reached the staircase when a voice called after him worryingly.

"Don?"

Swearing mentally, he turned around and winced. He was starting to feel the effects of the collision with both the tree and Edgerton. His ribs were hurting and a bump on the back of his head caused from when he had first hit the tree was developing into a major headache. He was bruised and covered with scratches. His clothes were dusty, although he had brushed off most of it, the right sleeve of his t-shirt was ripped and his jeans torn on the knees and thighs.

His father and Kath, his father's boss, were staring at him, one concerned, the other one almost amused.

"I fell," he explained briefly before his father could say more.

Alan kept staring at him, frowning. "Mmm, hmm. And?"

"There's no `and` Dad."

The tone in his son's voice indicated clearly that he didn't want to discuss the matter any further. Alan decided not to push. He knew if he did, his eldest would clam up or persist in saying everything was alright. Never mind, he would ask his team later.

Kath walked slowly over to him, a teasing grin on her lips and looked him up and down with an appreciative gaze.

"Mmm... is that the new FBI look? A mix of grunge and destroyed..." She moved closer and whispered in his ear, tugging playfully at his torn sleeve, uncovering his shoulder in the process. "Sexy...I'm all for it. If you ever decide to create your avatar, go for that look. I could make a 3D model."

Don couldn't help but laugh. "I'll think about it. But Amita's going to be jealous."

She slowly ran her index finger down his chest and looked at him straight in the eyes. "I recognize and appreciate a nice body when I see one," she murmured sensually then she turned to Alan and said louder in a business tone. "Alan, your idea to improve our new software is excellent. I'll pass your comments to our creative team. See you tomorrow afternoon for the brainstorming..." She paused, her eyes darting from one man to the other. "You Eppes men are truly amazing."

With that, she picked up her bag and went, leaving both father and son staring at the door, speechless and stunned.

.

To be Cont'ed

5


	2. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER TWO**

As soon as Don entered the meeting room, Charlie gave him a quick once-over. He noticed the bruises but didn't say anything. David and Colby had told him what had happened and he knew that, right now, Don was entirely focused on the investigation. Nothing else mattered, including his own pains and aches.

"Right, we have one prisoner and five dead. What do we know about them?" the team leader asked, throwing his jacket on a chair and rolling his sleeves up before checking his watch briefly.

"We identified two bodies," David informed him. He pressed one of the keys of the remote control and two pictures appeared on the screen hanging on the wall. "Mario Galvarez and Montague Portero – 19 and 18 years old. Both members of the Lobos Rojos,a Cuban gang. We don't know who the third one was. He didn't wear the gang's tattoo and his fingerprints are not in the system but we're checking with LAPD in case they have a record on him. We're also trying facial recognition."

"We'll have to wait a little longer regarding the two guys in the car. Their bodies are totally scorched and it's going to be difficult to identify them," Liz indicated.

"What about the one we arrested?"

David made a quick hand movement to show his frustration. "Again, no record, no fingerprints. He refused to say anything. The kid is obviously scared."

"Okay, keep putting the pressure on. He might say something eventually." Don ran a hand through his hair and started to pace in the room. "Let's say they all belong to the same gang. Who are their main enemies?"

"There is a couple," David continued. "One is Colombian: `The 771`. Their leader is a Manuel Ramirez. Arrested for assault, drug dealing and robbery, suspected of murder but the charges were dropped due to lack of evidence."

"The other gang `The Pumas` is Puerto Rican and controlled by two cousins, the Dos Santos," Colby reported. "They've been fighting to control the drug and prostitution markets in the Watts area."

Don lightly scratched his cheek with his thumb. "Find those guys. I want to talk to them."

David made a face. "It may take some time. They keep moving. It's hard to locate them."

"According to my sources, the 771 tried to expand their... range of activities," Nikki said.

"Such as?"

"Stolen credit cards. But the Russian mob retaliated by killing several of them. So they changed tact and turned to IT equipment and software," Liz finished.

Don stopped his pacing and nodded with force. "Very interesting."

"You think this could be a gang war?" Ian asked. The sniper was half sitting on a table to keep his sore ankle off the ground.

"Looks like it," Eppes replied. "Someone booby-trapped the getaway car, meaning that not only did they know the Lobos were planning to rob the warehouse but they also knew about their back-up plan. It has to be a vengeance... some sort of retribution. We need to know if two of these gangs ever tried to make a deal."

David looked at Don, puzzled. "For what?"

"Anything. To share a territory or a market. Maybe they ganged up against the third one. We need their files from LAPD. Maybe members of the same family belong to two different gangs – that could explain how they knew about the getaway car. There has to be a connection between these gangs. Interrogate the families of the victims. They might know something… And bring me Ramirez and the Dos Santos cousins here. I want a word with them," Don insisted.

The agents nodded and left the room. Ian carefully shifted his leg to place his foot on the floor and stood up.

"Ian, have your ankle checked," Don ordered.

"I'm fine, Eppes. It's just twisted, hardly swollen," the sniper retorted.

"Don't be stubborn. You can hardly stand on your foot. At least have it bandaged!"

Ian sighed deeply and noisily to show his annoyance and turned to Charlie for support. The professor jumped at the opportunity.

"Look who's talking? Did you see a doctor for your ribs? I saw you wince a couple of times."

Don shot an irritated look at Charlie. "I was wearing Kevlar, Charlie. It protected me. I just have some cuts and bruises. Nobody goes to a doctor for that."

"Mmm. Hmm... And your head? That's a scratch too?"

"A bump. No need to get all worked up, bro." Seeing that Charlie hadn't moved and was still looking at him with concern, Don added softly, "Listen, I promise: I'm fine. Stop worrying, okay?"

Charlie stared at Don intently, trying to guess if his brother was telling the truth. After a short while he gave up and changed the conversation. "So... we might have a gang war on our hands?"

Don turned to the mug shots on the screen and sighed. "Seems like it." He shook his head and gestured to the pictures. "Look at them. They were only kids. What a waste," he added in a sad voice.

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David slowed down as he turned into the street.

"The Porteros should live nearby. What number is it?" he asked.

Colby checked the address on the piece of paper he was holding. "Mmm... 327... Right there," he said pointing at a house a few yards in front of them.

Just as David stopped the car, a teenager rushed out of the house, soon chased by a slightly older girl.

"Enrique, don't be stupid! You're gonna get killed. Don't you think things have gone bad enough?... Enrique!" She tried to grab the boy by the arm but he shifted his body sideways to avoid her and started to run, ignoring the calls of the young girl. Helpless and very upset, she watched him for a few seconds then she turned around and slowly walked back to her home. She stopped short when she saw the two agents approaching and watched them warily until they stood in front of her.

"LAPD or FBI?" she asked bluntly.

"FBI," David replied, showing his badge. "Was that your brother?" he asked, pointing his chin in the direction of the boy.

She turned to look both sadly and angrily at the silhouette of the teenager. "My stupid brother, yeah."

"Why did you tell him he was going to get killed?" Colby questioned her.

"Because that's what's gonna happen. Just like Montague."

The two agents briefly glanced at each other.

"You know that Montague's dead?"

The young girl looked at David as if he had just said something very stupid. "Of course!"

"How?... He was identified only a short time ago. We haven't notified the families yet," Colby insisted.

The young girl stared at Colby before replying. "We don't need the cops to know that my brother was murdered."

"He took part in an armed robbery. He shot at us. We had to respond," David explained.

She held up a hand to stop the agent. "I'm not blaming you... entirely. He's dead because he joined that gang of morons. _They _are responsible for his death."

"What do you know about the Lobos Rojos?"

With a quick movement of the head, the young girl indicated them to follow her inside the house. In the kitchen, a woman in black was skinning potatoes. She lifted her head apprehensively when the men entered the room then, seeing the young girl, she carried on her task, obviously relieved.

"That's my grandma. She doesn't speak English."

Both men nodded quickly at the woman to say hello then David took a little notebook and a pen out of the inside pocket of his jacket and started to ask questions. "What's your name and how old are you?"

"Margarita. Sixteen."

"So Montague and Enrique are your brothers? Any other family?"

She nodded. "My elder sister, Maria."

"She lives with you?"

She shook her head. "No. Near Redondo Beach. She works in a restaurant but she's studying management. She wants to run her own business," she added proudly.

"What kind of business?"

"A restaurant," she replied as if it was self evident. She obviously thought the two men were complete idiots.

Colby glanced quickly at David, amused, before saying, "Alright. So why do you think Enrique is going to be killed. Does he belong to the Lobos Rojos?"

"No. Not yet. I've been able to keep him away from them... until today. Now that Montague's dead, he wants to avenge him. And the only way he could think of was to join the Lobos Rojos. They told him Monty'd been killed by the police. Now they're going to use him, just like they did with Monty… Montague."

"Use him?" David wondered.

"They use young boys like my brothers to do their dirty jobs," a female voice said behind them. The two agents and the young girl turned around to face a medium size, dark haired woman in her mid twenties. Margarita ran towards her to take refuge in her elder sister's arms.

"Maria!" she said as she started to cry, her face against her sister. "Monty's dead and Enrique's gone."

"I know Rita, calm down. I'm here now," she said softly, gently stroking the younger girl's hair. She kissed her sister's forehead and gently pushed her towards the kitchen. "Go see Grandma." Then she looked warily at the two men.

"FBI," David said before Maria could ask. "What were you saying about the Lobos Rojos?"

"Nobody knows who really runs the gang. That way, if things go wrong during a break-in**, **no one can talk. They're safe. Even the FBI can't do anything."

"You said young boys. Montague was 18, wasn't he?"

"Yes and Enrique is sixteen like Margarita. They're twins."

"Do you know who this one is? He looks older, probably early twenties." Colby showed her a picture of the third body.

Maria looked at the photo and frowned as a sad look crossed her face. "I don't know his name but I've seen him several times hanging around with the rest of the gang."

David showed her another picture. "What about him? Do you know him?"

After a short glance, she shook her head. "No, but I don't know everyone in the gang. He seems young. Is he dead too?"

"No, we arrested him. He has no record so we don't know who he is but we believe he's fourteen or fifteen," Colby mentioned. "Do you know where their headquarters are? Or is there anything else you could tell us? Anything at all?"

Maria thought for a moment then shook her head. "No. I know that sometimes they hang around near the railroad track but I don't know where exactly. And before you ask, no, Margarita doesn't know either."

"How can you be so sure? I mean, you don't live here. Maybe she's in contact with the gang too?"

Maria shook her head with force. "No! Oh, they tried! About two years ago. Can you imagine? She was fourteen! Fourteen and they wanted her to work for them!" She snorted angrily. "Work! We all know what that means: prostitution and drugs. My grandma called me and I took Margarita away. Now she's got a job as a waitress, and she's taking evening classes too." Maria looked towards the kitchen, a loving and proud smile on her lips. "She's a good kid. She'll do something with her life."

"Not like your brothers?"

Maria sighed deeply, distressed. "It's difficult to be a teenager in this neighborhood. If you want to fit in, you have to belong to a gang. Or at least, that's how they see it."

"Do you know where your brother's gone? Does he know where to find the Lobos Rojos?"

The young woman looked Colby squarely in the eyes, her voice suddenly becoming hard. "You don't find them. _They_ find you. And when they do, you're as good as dead. See what happened to Monty."

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Claudia, the coroner, lifted the sheet to uncover a body and Liz shifted uncomfortably on her feet. The sight of the charred corpses made her feel slightly sick. Oblivious to the young woman's discomfort, Claudia started to explain.

"Male, in his late twenties..."

"Late twenties?" Liz interrupted her. "Are you sure? That doesn't fit the profile of the members of the gang. They are usually younger than that."

Claudia shook her head with assurance. "No, definitely late twenties. He didn't have much dental work done but it might be enough to identify him. I should get a reply hopefully later today. Despite the high degree of burn, I was able to find evidence of an injury, most likely a shot-gun wound, about two years old. The guy was shot in the intestines. The damage was quite extensive. The way he was treated shows that he didn't go to the hospital. It was a miracle that he survived."

"Well, he ran out of lucky this time," Liz commented coldly. "Anything else?"

"At this stage, no. But as I said, I might get more with the dental works."

Liz nodded her head in understanding. "What about the other?"

Claudia replaced the sheet over the body. "There is no `other`. We're still trying to put the pieces together. The guy was probably sitting on the bomb... I mean literally sitting on it. That would explain why his body was pulverized the way it was. It's as if, whoever placed the bomb in the car, wanted to wipe out any trace of their occupants."

"Hmm, Don thinks it was some sort of reprisals."

"I have to agree with him. This was not just a killing. It was a slaughter. You have to really hate someone to do that."

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His left thumb running over his lips, Don was staring pensively at the pictures of the victims and the remains of the burnt car. He was so deeply lost in his thoughts that Charlie had to knock on the glass partition to catch his attention. The agent turned around, almost surprised to see him there.

"Hey Charlie," he greeted him in a soft voice. He could tell by his body language that the professor had something to ask him but didn't dare. "What's up buddy?" he encouraged him.

Charlie leaned against the wall, visibly uncomfortable. "Umm... I was thinking... Well I was wondering whether... if..."

Don smiled gently and reached out to touch his brother's arm. "Hey. What is it?"

Charlie took a deep breath as if to give himself the courage to speak then said very quickly, "I'd like you to help me find a wedding present for Amita. Something… different, you know?... Original." Then he waited, apprehensively. He couldn't understand why he was feeling so nervous. He knew Don would help him if he could but he was still feeling like the little brother asking his big brother a big favor, which he was in a way. He looked at Don with anticipation.

The older man stared at Charlie, a little taken aback. He definitely wasn't expecting that! He rubbed his forehead. "Uh! Charlie! You know, I don't have more experience than you in that field. Dad might be more useful."

"Only if I want to offer her a very expensive soap," the professor joked, remembering one of their father's disastrous dates.

Don nodded, laughing. "You've got a point." After thinking it over for a moment, the agent offered, "I could ask Robin. She usually has good ideas."

Charlie smiled widely, relieved. "I knew I could count on you!"

"Hey! I said I'd ask, not that I would have a solution!" Don rectified.

"I have complete trust in you, bro. Thanks." Charlie clapped Don's shoulder before leaving the office. He knew that now the agent had no other option but to help. There were some good sides to being the baby brother and to having an overprotective elder brother. He did feel a little guilty exploiting Don's weak point that way, though, but he also knew that the agent was resourceful and would come up with something. Reassured, the mathematician went back to work on the algorithm that David had requested to locate the Lobos Rojos.

To be Cont'ed

5


	3. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER THREE**

The doors of the elevators opened and a police officer got out, holding a large box. Nikki looked up and, recognizing the man, rushed towards him. She thanked him quickly and took the box before making a bee-line for the meeting room where Don was.

"Boss, LAPD have just brought us their files on the three gangs."

Ian entered nonchalantly, smiling wryly. She noticed him and asked. "What?"

The sniper put his hands up in defense as he leaned against the door frame. "Nothing... Nothing at all. It's just that, from what I heard from the conversation you had with them, you didn't give them much choice, did you?"

"What did you want me to do? That blockhead didn't want to help. I had to..."

She trailed off, glancing sideways towards Don who screwed up his eyes before asking suspiciously, "You had to what?"

Seeing the young woman embarrassed, Ian replied for her, "Let's just say that she can be _very_ convincing when needed."

Don tried to keep a straight face. "Okay but don't push them too hard. We need their cooperation."

"Yes, Boss," Nikki replied, thankful that Don didn't press her more.

Ian noticed that Don was absently playing with a pencil, looking at the pictures.

"What's bothering you, Eppes?"

Don walked over to the screen, rolling the pencil between the palms of his hands. "The more I think about it, the less it looks like a gang war."

"Boss," Nikki intervened. "According to LAPD, the Lobos Rojos and 771 did gang up against the Pumas. Apparently they made a sort of a pact not to invade each other's territory and to share the Pumas' once they'd been crushed. You were right. What makes you doubt it?"

Don shook his head briefly, uncertain. "The bomb was too devastating. It almost looks like personal revenge."

"I don't know, Eppes. If the Pumas are aware of the coalition between the other two gangs, retaliating by bobby-trapping the getaway car makes sense. "

"I agree but this is overkilling," Don insisted, pointing at the picture of the carcass of the car.

"Maybe it was an accident," Nikki suggested. "I mean... if they're not used to making bombs, and according to LAPD they're not, then maybe they overdosed the quantity of explosives."

Don nodded slowly, pursing his lips. That was a possibility but he couldn't shake off the feeling that there was more to it.

Edgerton had worked with the team leader often enough to trust Don's intuition. He sat carefully on a table. "In that case, we might be looking at one case turning into another."

"What?" Nikki asked, totally confused.

"What started as a gang war," Ian started.

"Has turned into a personal vendetta," Don finished. He pointed his chin at the box the young woman had placed on the table. "Nikki, let me know once you've found something," he ordered before leaving the meeting room.

Nikki stared at Ian, perplexed. "Like what?"

Ian got up and motioned towards the door. "You'll know once you've found it."

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Don was walking back to his desk when his cell phone rang. It was David.

"Don, Enrique Portero has been spotted. And he wasn't alone. Two Lobos Rojos recruiters were with him."

Don grabbed his jacket and started to jog towards the elevators. "Don't lose him but make sure no one intervenes. It's our best chance to know where they hide. I'm on my way."

Forty five minutes later, Don, David, Colby, Liz and two LAPD officers were watching an old railway yard where an abandoned train made of three wagons was rusting. Four carriages had been positioned around the train to act as shields in case of attack. The agents moved as near as they dared to. The surroundings were out in the open, preventing them from approaching too close without being spotted by the occupants.

His eyes glued to the binoculars, Don swept the area carefully. He noticed two men, armed with rifles, guarding the yard and counted ten other armed men inside the train. Although he couldn't see him, he was pretty sure that Enrique was there too. They could not charge the place without risking the boy's life.

Don lowered his binoculars. "We'll have to wait until after sunset if we want to act. It's gonna be dark in one hour. I want this place to be under surveillance until then."

The little group retreated silently and carefully to get back to their cars.

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Charlie got out of the elevator and started to scan the bullpen for his brother but the only person from the team he could see was Nikki– a very frustrated Nikki - seated at her desk.

"What's going on? Where is everybody?" he asked as he approached her cubicle.

Nikki raised her head to look up at the professor. "We might've located the Lobos. They went to check."

"Why are you here, then?"

She sighed and pointed at the pile of folders in front of her. "Your brother asked me to let him know `_once` _not `_if`_ but once I've found something. I don't even know what I'm looking for!" Her voice raised as her frustration increased.

Charlie half-smiled. "Yes. That sounds like Don. Let's see… He probably wants to know if there is anything that'd link the gangs-"

"Yeah! I got that!" she replied with force. "But like what? If I don't know what I'm searching for, I can look forever without seeing it!"

Again, Charlie smiled at Nikki's irritation. "These gangs are bound to have fought against each other in the past. Any fatalities?"

The agent nodded. "There've been three major confrontations in the last two years between the Lobos and the Pumas. Several dead on each side but no names stood out."

"What about the 771?"

"We don't know much about them apart from the fact that they're extremely violent. They don't hesitate to shoot at anyone they consider as a threat, including the police or bystanders. But so far, they've managed to avoid any clash with the rival gangs… But your brother already knows that."

Charlie looked down at the files, his mind already evaluating the most efficient way to process the information. "Let's see. I could create a program that would analyze each gang's history."

"History?"

"Yes, like how they expand their territory, the kind of people they recruit and for what purpose, the markets they're after, their members." Suddenly an idea came to him. "Maybe… maybe one member left a group to join another and-"

Nikki stopped him short. "No, Charlie. No one would do that. He'd be seen as a traitor by the gang he'd left and wouldn't be trusted by the one he joined as they'd think he'd come to spy on them. No, that's definitely not possible. When you join a gang, you stay with them until you die… Literally."

Charlie swallowed hard, uneasy. He wasn't very comfortable working on cases involving gangs… or mafia – their violence and their total lack of consideration for people's lives had always scared him. He had had some close encounters with them in the past to attest to it. He grabbed a chair and sat next to Nikki. "Okay, then we need to go through these files in detail. The solution is there, somewhere."

Nikki stared at the mathematician. "You've been working with your brother for too long. You sound just like him."

This time, Charlie smiled widely. "I'll take that as a compliment then."

The look on Nikki's face showed that she didn't exactly mean it that way.

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At sunset, the agents, Ian and two other units were back at the rail yard. The inside of the train was lit and they could see some activity in two of the three wagons. The third one seemed unoccupied. The same two guards were still watching the yard. The agents dispersedand started to crawl without a noise toward the carriages surrounding the train. Colby and David reached the one on the right while Liz and another agent took the one behind the train. Don went for the one on the left. In the meantime, Ian chose a spot where he would have a general view of the yard.

Don threw a little pebble to attract the attention of one of the sentinels. The man looked but, seeing nothing, carefully stepped in the direction of the noise.

"Psss," the other one called, when he saw him walking away.

"I heard something," the first guard whispered back.

Both men looked attentively, trying to see through the darkness then the second man shrugged. "Probably a rat."

"Yeah maybe... But I'm gonna check anyway."

The man shrugged again. "If you want to waste your time. I'm telling you, it's a fucking rat… or a rabbit."

Don threw another pebble to lure the man behind the carriage, out of sight of the other guard, then he hid underneath the wagon. He waited for the man to pass him then, very carefully, stood up. Wrapping his hand over the man's mouth to prevent him from screaming, he neutralized him without a noise. Then he cuffed him before hiding his body under the train.

"All clear on my side," the team leader whispered in the microphone attached to his wrist.

The second guard started to look nervously in the direction his accomplice had gone. Concerned not to hear or see him again, he started to call discreetly. "Paco?... Paco? Hey man?"

Walking as close to the wagon as possible to stay in the shadow, Colby approached the man and knocked him out with the butt of his gun.

"Clear here too," he announced.

The agents surrounded the train. David and Colby stood behind the front door while Liz covered the exit on the other side. Don joined David and Colby and waited until all the doors of the three wagons that composed the train were secured by agents.

"Shoot only if necessary," Don reminded his men. Most of the suspects were kids and he really didn't want any of them to get killed. "We're going in," he whispered in his mic. "Three, two, one!"

The front door of the train was pulled open and the three FBI agents rushed inside, shouting, "FBI ! Don't move!"

Two of the young men rushed to the back door only to find Liz and the agent aiming at them. Surprised and panicked, the suspects raised their hands in surrender.

Don and David moved to the second wagon where four suspects were being handcuffed by agents. The team leader spotted Enrique, huddled in a corner, pale as a ghost and totally terrified.

"Get the kid out of here," he told David.

Suddenly Liz saw two silhouettes running outside. "Ian! We have two runners!"

"Saw them," Edgerton confirmed as he fired, making sure not to hurt them. The two fugitives stopped short when bullets hit the ground around them. Their panic increased when they noticed a red dot running from one man's chest to the other. They didn't need anyone to explain what that meant: someone was aiming at them with an infrared rifle. They immediately raised their hands in the air, not daring to move or even breathe, feeling almost relieved when three agents arrived to arrest them.

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Don was about to leave the train when a furtive sound behind him made him whip his head around, just in time to see a pair of legs disappear through the window, up onto the roof. The man had obviously managed to hide when the FBI had raided the train. The lead agent holstered his gun and grabbed the frame of the window to haul himself onto the top of the carriage.

David brought Enrique outside before handing him to an LAPD officer. "Make sure he stays in a safe place but don't let him go. We need to question him." Then he rushed back inside the train to help Colby who was wrestling with a large Latino.

"His wrists are too big for my handcuffs!" Granger was sitting on his prisoner's back to try and control him. The guy was fighting hard to stand up and the agent felt like he was on a rodeo horse, trying to keep his balance and subdue his prisoner. David watched them with a smirk on his lips then taking pity on his partner, took his own handcuffs out. They were a little too small but David managed to close them around the man's wrists, who cried out in pain.

"Oh, come on!" Colby said, pulling him up onto his feet. "A big guy like you can't take handcuffs slightly too tight?" He knew it was more than `slightly`. The metal frame was actually biting into the flesh but none of the agents had other means to restrain the prisoner and Granger wasn't ready to untie the man. He pushed him to join the other prisoners guarded near the SUVs parked a few yards away.

Liz arrived, holding a suspect.

"Where's Don?" she enquired. The rest of the team looked around, suddenly worried.

"Last time I saw him, he was in the train..." David called in his mic, "Don? Where are you?" Receiving no reply, he added, "Ian, can you see Don?"

"Affirmative. He's on the roof of the last carriage of the train, on your left. He's chasing a suspect."

The four agents tried to see their boss but it was too dark. They could hear footsteps running on top of the train.

"Ian, keep an eye on him. We can't see him."

"No problem." Lying on the ground, his eyes riveted to his infrared sight**, **Ian attentively observed the agent's movements.

The rest of his team ran towards the wagon where their boss was. Suddenly a shot echoed. They could just make out a silhouette on the roof aiming at another before leaping from the train into the shadows on the ground. They sprinted towards the figure who fired in their direction. They were about to shoot back when the sky cleared up. The moon lit up the night enough for the agents to see their boss jumping from the roof onto the fugitive and both men rolling on the ground, in the shadows. A couple of shots echoed followed by a cry of pain and the sounds of a fight.

"Don!" the three agents shouted in chorus.

"Ian! What's going on? Where are they?" David demanded, furious. _How come the sniper hadn't intervened?_

"They're near the last wagon."

"Yeah, I know. You already said that but we... Hang on!... Don!... You okay, man?"

"Yeah, yeah." The dark haired agent appeared, pushing his prisoner in front of him. Once they reached a better lit area, his team noticed that both men had blood on their clothes. They looked at Don, anxiously.

"You hit?" Liz asked, lightly touching Don's arm, afraid to hurt him. But the agent shook his head.

"It's not my blood. It's his. Good shot Ian, but next time wait until I'm a little further from your target. I nearly got that one."

"Not my fault. You moved too fast, Eppes," Edgerton retorted with sarcasm in his voice.

Don shook his head and smiled. "Okay. We've got everyone?"

"Yes and no casualties," confirmed David.

They walk back to join the rest of the agents and the prisoners. One of them, who seemed much older than the rest of the group, looked at Don with hatred and shouted.

"You're dead, man! You hear me? You're dead!"

Not impressed by the threats, Don turned to the man and asked quietly. "Oh, and why is that?"

"Our leader will skin you like a rat!"

"Your leader? Really? And who is he? I'd like to talk to him."

"He'll find you and he'll sk..."

"Skin me. Yeah, okay... Take him away," he ordered, waving briefly to one of the police officers.

The agents started to walk back to their cars. Noticing the frustrated look on her boss's face, Liz asked him.

"What's the matter?"

Don pointed his chin at the prisoners. "None of them will know anything."

She gestured towards the man who had just threatened Don. "This guy is clearly one of their lieutenants. He might tell us something useful."

The lead agent stopped near his vehicle, pursed his lips together and shook his head. "Maybe but I'd be surprised. I'm sure he doesn't know who the big fish is." He rubbed the side of his brow with his fingers, still staring at the man before adding. "But he can still give us some interesting information." He opened the door of his SUV.

"Don. You've just said he wouldn't know anything," Colby reminded, perplexed.

"It depends what you ask him and how," Don replied before getting into his car, leaving his team looking at each other, mystified.

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Don entered the interrogation room briskly, holding a file that he threw across the table. The prisoner was leaning back casually in his chair. He looked at the agent with an arrogant smile on his lips.

"Pedro Maltez, twenty eight. You joined your first gang at the age of fifteen. Small time thief, your specialty is breaking into cars." Don pursed his lips, falsely appreciative. "You can be proud of yourself. That's quite an achievement, really. You're definitely a priceless asset for a gang. Your leader will not hesitate to kill an FBI agent to get you back."

His smile turning into a snarl, Pedro leaped to his feet but Don expected his reaction and pushed him back down onto his chair.

"Sit down!" he ordered. "I want to know who you work for!"

Pedro leaned over the table. "Fuck you!"

"You don't get it, do you? They're not going to fight for you. You're a nobody. Guys like you can be found by the dozen. Why would they take any risks for you... or those kids?"

Pedro shot a defiant look at Don but remained silent.

The agent had observed the prisoner for an hour before questioning him. Don knew that the man's overconfident attitude was just a facade. Men like him were dangerous, even deadly, in a group but once on their own, they usually hid their vulnerability behind empty menaces. But Don also knew he had to be careful not to push him too far or the young man wouldn't cooperate.

"Are you _really_ ready to spend the rest of your life behind bars for guys who don't care about you? Is that what you want? Come on, you're smarter than that!"

"I'm not gonna stay in jail for long," the young man replied with assurance.

"No? I wouldn't bet on that."

"They'll find a way. I know they will and then we'll come back to bleed you."

Liz and David were watching the interrogation behind the glass.

"Whatever Don has in mind, it's not working," she said.

David shook his head slightly. "Wait. He's not finished yet. I've seen him act like that before. I mean spending hours, sometimes days studying someone. When he does that, it usually means he's on to something. I'm telling you."

Liz looked at the two men in the interrogation room. "Maybe… It's hard to know what's in his head most of the time. And his tendency to get obsessed is a bit scary... Talking about obsession, Charlie's something too. That must run in the family."

David had to laugh at that. "Yeah, I've got to agree with you on that. I don't know about Alan but the two brothers don't give up easily."

They refocused their attention onto the two men when Pedro started to scream at Don, who calmly looked back at him.

"You finished?" Eppes asked him softly. He took a chair and sat in front of the prisoner. "Okay, you don't want to give up your leaders, I understand and respect that."

Pedro looked at Don, uncertain and surprised by his sudden change of attitude.

The agent carried on. "Actually, I don't care about your gang. It's the 771 and the Pumas I'm after. One of them placed the bomb that killed your friends. We just want to stop them from murdering anyone else."

The young man frowned slightly, still staring at the agent hesitantly.

"I'm not asking you to betray your friends. I know you won't. We need to know where to find the 771 and the Pumas. We have ways to bring them down that your gang alone doesn't. That's all... We need your help, Pedro." Don leaned forward to touch the young man's forearm. "In memory of those who died yesterday."

When Pedro didn't recoil, Don knew he had won.

"Told you," David commented with a smile when the young man started to answer Don's questions.

Hands on her hips, Liz shook her head and snorted a smile, both amused and in awe. "Don's plan was to get information on the other gangs, not on the Lobos."

David smiled knowingly. "It would've been a waste of time. The kid doesn't know who he works for. But he had to be off-balance emotionally if we wanted him to collaborate. If Don had asked him straight away for his aid, he would've refused to talk. Question of pride and honor: you don't help the FBI when you're a gang member."

**To be Cont'ed**

6


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Don, David and Liz walked to Nikki's cubicle where she and Charlie were still working on the files that LAPD had given them.

"We know where to find the 771 and the Pumas," Don announced. "What do you have on them?"

"Both gangs are much more dangerous than the Lobos, who are no angels. If we attack them, we'll need to act quickly but carefully," Nikki advised. "On top of their `_normal_` business-" she said, stressing on the word `normal`.

Charlie felt he had to specify, "By that, she means drugs, prostitution and burglary."

Nikki ignored the interruption and carried on, "The Pumas specialize in stealing and smuggling patents for computer games. Apparently it's big business."

"A good script and well-designed software can be _very_ profitable," Charlie confirmed. "I'm talking millions."

Don nodded thoughtfully. "What do you have on the 771? How come they made a deal with the Los Lobos?"

"LAPD thinks their real intentions are to take over the Pumas and _then_ go after the Lobos," Nikki explained.

"So killing the Lobos wouldn't be a very clever strategy. You don't get rid of the people you want to win over," Don commented. "Alright, we know where they hide. We'll act tomorrow morning..." He glanced at his watch: it was 1 am. "I mean this morning." It had been a very long day and they all needed rest before fighting against dangerous criminals. "Get some sleep. We'll strike at 'll need two SWAT teams. David, you'll meet me at Charlie's."

"You want a double raid?" Sinclair asked.

Don nodded. "You'll lead the one on the Pumas. I'll take the 771."

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Don got up just before 5am. He hadn't slept much but, after a quick shower, he felt refreshed enough. He took his tactical gear out of the trunk of his SUV and went back inside the house to get ready. Sitting on the last step of the stairs, Charlie looked at him anxiously.

Outside, the sound of an engine informed the Eppes that David had arrived. Don opened the door and the other agent entered, also wearing his bullet proof vest.

"SWAT said they were heavily armed and had hand grenades too," Charlie said, his voice betraying his concern.

"Yeah, I know. That could be a problem-" Don started.

Charlie interrupted him, leaping to his feet. "That _will_ be a problem!" he said louder than he meant to. As he walked over to Don, he suddenly noticed their father in the kitchen doorway and stopped short. "Oh! Hi Dad! You're up early."

Alan was standing, observing the three men. "I came to get a glass of water. What's going on?" he asked anxiously.

Don turned to his father while adjusting the earpiece linked to his radio. "Hi Dad," he replied casually. "We're just passing by."

"Wait, wait, wait... Where are you going? Charlie mentioned `heavily armed` and `hand grenades`?"

"Ah... Uh... It's nothing to worry about. We're just going to... the shooting range... to practice."

Charlie looked at Don, appalled that his brother couldn't come up with a better excuse. Don winced mentally. _Yes, that was lame. _

"Oh really? And what kind of exercise requires wearing the whole anti-terrorist paraphernalia? Look at you! Kevlar vest, two guns, knee pads, elbow pads, goggles! And the hand grenades? Are they part of the exercise too?" Alan crossed his arms, standing firmly on his feet and staring severely at his son.

"Damn, I forgot my watch in my room," Don mumbled before rushing upstairs, glad to use the excuse to avoid the third degree his father was about to give him.

But Alan was not finished yet. Knowing he wouldn't get any answer from his eldest, he turned to David and granted him with his best inquisitive look. "What's going on?"

The agent opened his mouth but words didn't come out. _Next time, I will wait for my boss outside, _he promised himself. But, right now, he had no choice but to answer and he replied, "Uh… Mr Eppes… Alan… You… you don't want to know."

"Maybe not… But I have the right to worry when I see my son dressed like a samurai of the modern times." Alan frowned apprehensively. "It's going to be dangerous, isn't it?"

David glanced towards the stairs, shifting uncomfortably on his feet and hoping that Don would come back_ very_ soon. "Well… I mean…"

Alan raised a hand, upset. "I've got it. It's going to be very dangerous."

Don raced down the stairs, quickly glanced at his watch and headed towards the door. "We've gotta go, Pop."

Alan took a step forward. "Donnie!"

Don stopped at the door. "Dad."

Both men stared at each other, Don impatiently, Alan distraughtly. David took advantage of the silent confrontation between the two men to slip away. Then the elderly man finally said, "Be careful, son."

Don half-smiled. "Always. I'll give you a call later. You too, Chuck."

"Don't call me..."

Don slammed the front door behind him and ran to his car.

"... Chuck," Charlie finished. Then trying to hide his apprehension from his father, he stated in his most reassuring tone, "Everything's gonna be fine, Dad. His men watch his back."

Alan sighed deeply through his nose. "Yeah, I know... But he can be so fiery sometimes. I always fear the worst... And he usually doesn't come home wearing his tactical gear. It's... scary to see him wearing all that equipment."

"Yeah, I must admit he's rather impressive in it," Charlie agreed.

"Impressive?... Mmm, maybe but to me, he's still Donnie, my boy, not an FBI agent… What I'm trying to say..."

"Is that you didn't see him grow up and become a man."

Alan looked at Charlie and smiled a little sadly. "But he seems to do his best to remind me of it every day."

Charlie placed a comforting hand on his father's shoulder. "He's good at what he does, Dad."

"I know that, too, but that doesn't make me feel any better. He takes too many risks. Look what happened last year. We almost lost him!" Alan sighed deeply again to try andloosen the tightening in his chest. "Mind you, he's always been a lively kid, with overdoses of energy… nervous energy. He couldn't stay still for more than ten minutes…" He looked at Charlie, a little smile lighting his face. "That was a damnedcontrast with you. At the time, you could stay hours lost in your math." He snorted a laugh. "You were not easy kids to handle back then, can you imagine now you're grown-ups?"

Charlie smiled in response.

"But at least, you spend your energy writing on boards," Alan carried on. "It's messy, lots of chalk dust but it's safe. You don't feel the need to run after criminals all day long or rush into the middle of a shooting!"

"That's just the way he is, Dad. We have to make do with it," Charlie reminded him, although he understood exactly how his father was feeling since he had the same fears.

Alan returned to the kitchen. It was too late to go back to bed now. And he wouldn't be able to sleep anyway. "I'm going to make some coffee. Want some?"

Charlie wasn't feeling tired either and he knew his father wanted some company, so he nodded and followed him.

Alan was filling the coffee machine with water when he suddenly turned to Charlie, upset. "His constant need to face dangers scares me. I keep wondering if he thinks he's invincible, or if he's fearless or if it's something darker… like… a death wish or something."

Charlie looked down. He had wondered too, several times. He could feel his father's gaze on him and looked up. "Invincible? No, he's too smart for that… Fearless? Maybe a little. He's definitely a daredevil. But death wish? No!" He shook his head with force. "He's not the easiest person to read but I'm sure he's not suicidal. He takes risks-"

"To say the least!" Alan muttered while turning the coffee machine on.

"But they're calculated risks. I'm sure… No, I _know_ he thinks things over before acting. As I said he's good at what he does. He assesses a situation quickly and reacts even more quickly, instinctively. And he remains calm under pressure." That was something that he had always admired in his brother. "That's probably how he operated when he was playing baseball and he applies the same techniques today."

"Except that when someone goes down in a baseball game, they usually get up with scratches or a broken bone at worse. They don't find themselves fighting for their life in an ICU because they've been stabbed!" Alan shouted, hitting the edge of the sink with his hands.

The younger Eppes hesitated, unsure what to say or to do. His father had never talked about the stabbing with anyone but it was visibly an unresolved issue for Alan. The mathematician stepped closer and placed his hand on his father's shoulder as he said softly, "Maybe you should discuss that with Don, Dad."

"Like it's going to stop him from taking risks!"

"Probably not, but you need to talk about it. If not to me or Don, then maybe someone like…"

"Dr Bradford?" Alan glanced over his shoulder at his son before looking through the window in front of him. He added in a very low voice, as if he was talking to himself, "I speak to your mother."

Charlie smiled shyly. "You need someone who can respond, Dad… Listen, whatever you decide, if you need to talk, I'm here."

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Don had intended to discuss the raids with David at Charlie's but, due to the unplanned intervention of his father, they had to talk about it over the phone in their cars. He wanted to make sure that everything was ready and that a minimum amount of risks would be taken. He knew that both gangs were extremely dangerous. He trusted David but felt responsible for his men's lives whether he was leading the attack or not. David understood that and was grateful for it.

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According to Pedro Maltez, the Pumas' hideout was an old factory situated in an abandoned industrial park. David found his team inside a small empty warehouse located on the other side of the street. They were watching a three storey building in an advanced state of decrepitude. One of the wings had collapsed, all the windows were broken and a part of the roof was missing. The only recent thing was a large metal sliding door protecting the entrance. It almost looked out of place. The whole area seemed deserted. No sign of activity inside or around the plant. That worried the agents.

"It's early. Maybe they're still asleep," Nikki suggested.

Colby made a face. "Possibly."

David turned to the SWAT leader. "Okay, it's gonna be daylight soon. We must act now. King, you and four of your men, you take the back. The rest come with us," he instructed, pointing at Colby and Nikki.

Making sure to stay in the shadows, the two groups ran discreetly to the building. King gestured to his men and they silently deployed to cover the back of the building. David and his team moved to the front door, crouching carefully when passing under the windows. Colby glanced inside but it was too dark and all he could see were still figures.

"They're asleep but no sign of guards," he whispered.

David nodded and the group carried on moving until they reached the door. It was unlocked. David glanced apprehensively at Colby and Nikki then ordered, "Now!"

The agents slid the door open and charged inside, shouting to startle their enemies while King and his men entered from the back.

Both groups stopped, feeling a little stupid when no one in the room reacted to their orders. One of the men was leaning over a table and seemed asleep. David approached him with precaution and pulled him back. It was a young Latino, in his early twenties. His eyes were wide open with an expression of shock on his face and a bullet in the chest. The agents checked the four other bodies but there were no survivors. They had all been executed then repositioned to appear to be sleeping. David looked at Colby and Nikki then at King, puzzled.

"I'm no medic but it looks like they've been dead for no more than a couple of hours," one of the SWAT men announced.

"Retribution for bombing the Lobos's car?" Nikki suggested, thinking aloud.

"If so, they didn't have much time to savor their victory," King commented.

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It was 6 am when Don reached his team. Pedro had told him that the 771's headquarters were in a former community center. By claiming the building as theirs, the 771 had sent the message to their rivals and the people of the quarter that the neighborhood belonged to them. People were terrified by them and no one so far had dared challenge or complain to the police. They knew the punishment would be death.

Don wanted to act as soon as possible, first to take advantage of the darkness but mainly because people would soon be in the streets to go to work. The safety of the civilians was the agent's top priority and the fact that the HQ was right in the middle of a populated area made the whole operation hazardous.

The team leader observed the house in his binoculars. It was prefabricated but the walls had been reinforced with metal sheets. No movement inside. He checked the entrance and the two windows, and noticed they were alarmed. The building was between two bungalows. Don couldn't evacuate them without raising suspicion. With a hand movement, he signaled his men to move. They split into three groups and ran silently toward the house.

One of the groups secured the back to prevent anyone from escaping through the gardens while the two other groups spread to cover the other exits. Liz and Don peered through the windows. Don squinted to make sure he was seeing right. The place was empty. Don felt the hair at the base of his neck rise – something was off.

He turned his head at the sound of an engine coming their way. A car...No, two cars were approaching. The windows were rolled down and machine guns appeared.

"Guns!" he shouted.

The agents crouched or flattened themselves against the walls of the house. Liz and Don didn't have time to take cover and threw themselves onto the ground just as the men in the cars started to fire at them.

Her hands over her head in protection, lying flat on the floor, Liz glanced desperately towards one of the bungalows: the front garden was delimited by a small railing. She tried to assess the distance. Maybe she could make it to the fence. It wasn't ideal but it would be better than her present position. Then she suddenly froze before shouting, "Grenade!"

Don whipped his head in Liz's direction just in time to see a man coming out of the bungalow holding a couple of grenades. The agent rolled onto his side, aimed and shot three times, hitting the man at center mass. The man collapsed, dropping the explosives at his feet. When only one detonated, Don realized that the man had only had the time to pull the pin out of one of the grenades; the other one was still intact.

"Cover me!" he shouted, hoping that someone would hear him through the racketof the shooting. He got up and ran under the volley of bullets, rolled on the ground, grabbed the grenade, pulled the pin out and threw it at one of the cars before rolling over to protect himself behind the fence.

He didn't have much time to aim but was lucky. The explosive hit the first car's hood, fell on the road then rolled under the car. The driver accelerated and managed to clear the vehicle before the device blew up, but it was still too close and the blast burst the rear window and the back tires, ripping the trunk open.

Don carefully raised his head as the car drove away as fast as its flat tires allowed it, followed by the second car. The agents fired at the two vehicles.

One of the SWAT men announced, "I'm pretty sure I hit one of the guys, and the grenade did a lot of damage… That was quite a stunt you pulled, Eppes."

Liz turned towards her boss to tease him but stopped short. "Don, you're bleeding!"

Don stared at her blankly.

Liz and two agents walked over to him. "You'd better sit down, Eppes," said one of them.

Seeing the confusion on Don's face, Liz asked in disbelief, "Don, you've been hit! Can't you feel it?"

Suddenly a burning sensation started to spread in his left arm and he could feel a warm liquid running along his hand. He looked in surprise at a dark stain that was widening on his sleeve. In the heat of the action, he hadn't noticed the bullet impact. Now, however, it was hard to ignore it and he cradled his arm against him, pressing on the wound to reduce the bleeding and the pain.

"Come on. I'll take you to the hospital," Liz said, pushing him in the direction of their vehicles.

"It's just a scratch, Liz," Don protested.

"It's bleeding… a lot and it needs to be disinfected… If you're being difficult, I'll call your Dad."

Don glared at her but still followed her. He knew those were not empty threats and given his father's reaction earlier, he really didn't want to have to face him.

To be Cont'ed

5


	5. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER FIVE**

"They were waiting for us," stated Liz.

Sitting on a chair, his head resting against the wall, Don looked sideways at the young woman. "I don't think it was us specifically. If they killed the Pumas and are behind the death of the two Lobos, they knew someone would come at some point. It just happened that we were there first."

Liz frowned at him, not so much for disagreeing with her than for the fact that he had refused to take his afternoon off like the doctor had instructed him. Don had been right about the wound; it was not severe. The bullet had just grazed his arm but it was still painful. The agent didn't seem to be suffering though, but she could see he was paler than normal and kept unconsciously stroking the bandage on his left bicep.

"If they are responsible for these deaths, what were they thinking? They can't fight both gangs at the same time. That's madness," David commented.

"I want the two HQs and the rail yard under surveillance 24/7. What about the neighbors? Those in the bungalow?"

"They saw or heard nothing," Colby explained, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Didn't know the guy who came into their house with the grenades, never saw him before… They're too scared to talk."

Don rubbed his face with his good hand. "Yeah, I can't say that surprises me." He looked at Nikki. "Any luck with the files?"

"Your brother's working on some sort of magic trick to crosscheck the -"

Don snorted a laugh. "Magic trick. He'd be happy if he heard you."

"Too late, I did," Charlie said as he entered the room, his eyes immediately darting to his brother, trying to assess his injuries. He placed his laptop on the table. "I'm simply making an organization analysis chart that will quantify the links between the gangs. We'll see if it points at someone in particular. Since we don't really know what we're looking for, I tried to keep our options as open as possible."

Don sat up a little straighter. "Good, when will it be ready?"

"Hard to tell. Not before late this afternoon, I suppose."

"SWAT said they wounded one of the guys. He'll need to be treated. We have to find their doctor. David, have a word with that kid, Enrique."

"I don't think he knows anything, Don," David pointed out.

"Probably not but he needs a good lecture. I don't want him to get killed like his brother and he will if he stays in the streets. Do what it takes but make sure he gives up the idea of joining the Lobos… or any other gang for that matter. "

David nodded his head in agreement. He knew his boss was right. He just hoped he would find the right words. He was still hoping when he stepped into the interrogation room where the boy and his lawyer were waiting.

"You know Enrique, that wasn't very clever," David reprimanded him, "joining the gang that killed your brother."

"Los Lobos Rojos didn't kill him. You did!" the boy spat with force.

"We pulled the trigger, it's true; but he was committing an armed robbery under the Lobos' orders. _They_ knew the risks he was running but I don't think your brother realized that... It's too late for him now but not for you. Listen, you've committed no crime so far, so go home and stay away from those guys or you'll end up in a morgue just like Monty. Is that what you want?" The teenager remained silent, his head down. David had the feeling he was crying. "Think of your grandma and your sisters. They've already lost a grandson and a brother. You are the only man left in the house. They need you."

The boy didn't reply but this time David knew he was crying as sobs were softly shaking his shoulders.

"I'm gonna go to prison?" he finally said, still looking down.

"No. I told you, you've done nothing wrong so far. Keep it that way. Your sister Maria is outside, waiting to take you home."

David turned around and waved at the glass. The door opened and Maria came in. The boy leapt to his feet and rushed to hug his sister then stopped suddenly. He composed himself, stood straight to look manlier, and walked to Maria. He was the last man of the house after all. He couldn't act like a kid anymore.

Maria smiled at David and rolled her eyes, amused. David smiled back before looking at Enrique. He had questioned the boy on the way from the rail yard and knew that he didn't know much about the Lobos Rojos. There was no reason to keep him any longer. He opened the door to let Maria and her brother leave. The young woman gently pushed the boy in front of her.

As she was passing in front of him, David slightly raised his hand to stop her then, making sure that the teenager was out of earshot, whispered, "We believe that the 771 are at war with the Pumas and probably with the Lobos too. Let us know if you hear anything."

Maria nodded. "You can count on me… Thank you very much… You probably saved his life last night." She took a couple of steps then turned around as if she had suddenly made a decision. "Actually there is a thing or two you might want to know about those gangs."

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Don was helping himself to coffee when Colby stuck his head around the doorof the break room.

"Don, Claudia called. She finally got the dental records of the guys killed in the car explosion. The lab managed to identify some of the bodies found at the Pumas' hideout and your brother thinks he knows where to look for the doctor that helped the Lobos."

Don's eyebrows shot up in surprise and he laughed. "Alright. I should take a break more often. That seems to speed up things,**"** he joked as he followed the agent.

David turned towards his boss as he entered the meeting room.

"Don, the vic in the explosion was Marco Villalonga. According to the kids we arrested at the rail yard, he was _the_ big chief. I don't think he was the top guy, though."

"No, he would've never led a burglary in a warehouse. He was probably there to control the kids and make sure everything was alright." Don sighed: _another dead end. _"The Pumas?"

"Two of the bodies were kids from the area. But the other two," the agent pressed on the remote control to display the mug shots of men in their late twenties, "were the Dos Santos cousins, leaders of the Pumas."

Don pursed his lips thoughtfully. "Without their leaders, the gang is non-existent... An efficient way to eradicate your enemy."

"So the 771 _are_ behind all this mess?" Liz asked, although it sounded more like a statement than a question.

"A part of it, anyway."

"Come on Don, it's obvious that they are responsible for this gang war," Charlie insisted. "What more proof do you need?"

Don turned to his brother. "I'm sorry Charlie, but the only certainty I have is that the Pumas have been eliminated. We don't know for sure the 771 are behind it."

The professor pointed at his computer. "Don, it is a 72 percent chance that they did it!"

The team leader chewed his lower lip, still not convinced but didn't reply. Instead he stood silently in front of the screen, staring intently at the mug shots.

Exasperated, Charlie raised his hands in the air and, looking at the rest of the team, mouthed, "72 percent!"

Don turned around to ask. "What else did you get from your analysis?"

Charlie sighed noisily to show his discontent then replied, "Well, I didn't find anything out of the ordinary…. I mean considering that we're dealing with gangs."

"According to Maria, it seems that the Lobos started the hostilities by stealing the haul that the Pumas had robbed from a shop," David explained. "The Pumas retaliated by machine-gunning the Lobos' hideout. To which the Lobos responded by setting the Pumas's HQ on fire. Things have been escalating since then. That's why the Lobos keep moving from place to place – they don't want to be taken by surprise again."

"Any victims?"

David nodded. "None in the fire but one in the shooting."

"And before you ask, yes I ran a check on them but again, nothing unusual came out," the professor added.

"Anyone seriously hurt?" Don questioned.

Colby suddenly remembered something and started to fumble through the files. "There was something… Ah! Here it is. During the gunfire at the Lobos' quarters, one of the lieutenants was killed and his girlfriend seriously wounded. Her name was Isabella Montana… but according to our records, she doesn't exist. She has no driver's license, no social security number, was never registered in any schools, and of course she's not a tax payer."

"False identity? She probably entered the country illegally," David suggested.

"Or she changed her identity. I suppose she didn't go to the hospital when she was shot?" Liz asked.

"Actually she did, but she disappeared just after being admitted to the emergency room," Colby read from the file. "The shooting happened at the same time as a major road accident and it seems that the Los Lobos took advantage of the confusion in the ER to take her back before the police could interrogate her. Nobody saw them leave. The police did manage to get her fingerprints from the gurney she was transported on but it was probably her first arrest because they didn't match anyone's in our records."

"What about her DNA?" Don asked. "If she was wounded, they must have had a sample of her blood?"

Colby had a quick read-through of the hospital report. "Mmm... Yes, but I don't see how that can help-"

Don interrupted him and turned to Charlie. "You said you knew where to find the doctor who looked after her?"

"No," the professor corrected. "I narrowed the perimeters of where to look for him. In the area covering the territory of the three gangs, we have ten doctors and three practices-"

Colby shook his head. "Forget about them. No bullet wound was reported by any doctors at the time of the shooting. They didn't go to a conventional practitioner."

"Okay," the professor replied while entering this new information on his laptop. "Now, David and Colby got a list of the doctors who lost their licenses plus the guys who have some medical knowledge and would be ready to help gangs."

"Maria Portero and the local residents association helped us on that," David explained.

Don turned to the screen while waving at his brother. "Charlie, can you… can you display your map?"

Charlie pressed a key and the map he was working on appeared on the main screen.

"That leaves only the illicit doctors and the self made medics," Nikki noted.

Don cocked his head slightly to one side as he looked at the map. "The Lobos girl was taken from the hospital here." He pointed at an area. "And their HQ at the time of the shooting was here." He pointed at another one. "If she was bleeding seriously, they had to stop somewhere between these two places. All this part is under the Pumas' control: too dangerous for them to stop there. So the first safe place where they knew they would get help was… there," he deduced, tapping his index on a dot on the map. "Now, let's use the same approach for today's shooting. It happened here and they escaped in that direction. Again, they had to stay within their territory. So their most likely choices would've been either here or… here."

Don looked at his agents who nodded their heads in agreement. "Ok. You check these addresses. I'll see if I can trace who helped the Lobos."

As he walked back to his desk to get his gun and his jacket, Don felt Charlie trottingbehind him. He looked over his shoulder without stopping.

"Is there something else, Buddy?"

The professor hesitated a second then asked, "Can I come with you?"

Intrigued, Don frowned. "You usually don't ask to be present at interviews. Why do…" Suddenly his face cleared. "Oh! I see! Charlie, I haven't had the time to talk to Robin yet."

"I know, I know. But … I thought maybe we could…brainstorm."

Don laughed. "Alright. We'll discuss it on the way." He shook his head several times, amused. His secured his gun at his right hip and started to walk to the elevators.

"Now, Charlie!" he called out when he noticed his brother had not moved yet. The professor jumped slightly, seized his laptop and ran after the agent.

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"So what kind of gift do you have in mind?" Don asked as he drove out of the FBI's parking lot.

"I don't know. Something… Something…" The mathematician nervously scratched the side of his jaw. "I don't know. I have absolutely no idea," he finally confessed, defeated.

Don moved his head slightly from side to side. "Well, it's very personal. You know Amita better than I do, obviously, so I'm not sure I can help."

"Just… give me some ideas and I'll see."

Don snorted a laugh. "Alright. What about a honeymoon in India?"

"Yeah I thought of that but it's gonna be difficult to fit it in our schedules. And I'd like something that lasts."

"Memories last, Charlie," Don stressed.

"Yes, but I mean something more…"

"I know what you mean. Alright let's see. Is there anything she said she's always wanted: an art object, a rare book, any… math thingy?"

Charlie glanced sideways at his brother with a smirk then made a face. "I can't think of anything right now."

When they pulled over in front of the house of the suspected doctor thirty five minutes later, they still hadn't come up with anything that had suited Charlie. They got out of the SUV and walked into an alleyway that led to a small bungalow. They could hear several voices inside and a baby crying. Don knocked on the door. A large Latino woman opened it. Don showed his badge.

"FBI. I would like to talk to Dr. Allson?"

The woman shook her head and replied with a thick Spanish accent, "Doctor not here."

"Really?" he replied dryly when he heard the noise of a window being opened and some sort of commotion at the back of the house.

He ran around the house, his gun in his hand and stopped when he found a rather chubby man in his mid-fifties stuck in the window. He holstered his weapon and asked, amused, "Dr. Allson, I presume?"

Holding the doctor firmly by the arm, Don walked back inside the house. As they entered, a woman with a baby in her arms surreptitiously left the premises.

"One of your patients?" Charlie asked.

They walked to the room the doctor used as an office. Don pushed the man onto a chair and stood in front of him. The professor decided it would be better for him to stay well away and leaned against the wall, near the door.

"Most people in this neighborhood don't have insurance and cannot afford to go to the doctor," Allson replied.

"And being the compassionate man that you are,you help whoever comes to you. Mmm?"

The doctor tried to ignore Don's mocking tone. "The system in this country is only made for the rich. Someone has to aid the poor."

"What about gangs?" Don leaned towards him to look straight into his eyes.

Unsettled by the intensity of the agent's look, he looked away. "I don't… I don't help gangs," he managed to say.

"Don't you?" Don replied. "What about Isabella Montana, last year? She got shot and her gang brought her here… Don't say it's not true, we have a witness who saw them," Don lied.

The doctor looked at the agent with wide eyes before admitting, "Yes, I remember her but it's not like I had much choice. They were armed and they forced me to treat her."

Don's eyes got harder. "Oh, come on! Don't try to make me believe it was the first time they came to see you. They didn't stop here by chance. They knew you'd help them... Listen, I don't care if you practice without a license as long as you help those who deserve it. And gangs are not on my list!"

The doctor looked at Don nervously. "What do you want from me?"

"I want to know where the Lobos Rojos's leaders are hiding."

The doctor shook his head. "I heard they had a hideout near a train yard."

"We found that one. Try again. "

"I… I don't know."

Don kept staring at the man, who shook his head desperately. "I don't know. I swear!"

"What about Isabella Montana? She was the girl-friend of one of the lieutenants. Where can we find her?"

"I don't know." When Don started to lean closer angrily, he held a hand out and added quickly, "All I know is that her name is Mansini, not Montana."

Don moved back. "Mansini?"

The doctor nodded with force. "Yes. When they brought her here, I recognized her. I used to practice in San Jose until…. Well… Anyway, she used to live in the same neighborhood. I don't think she recognized me, she was too far gone because of her injury but I'm sure it was her. She had two brothers: Adriano and Luigi. Strangely enough, they weren't with her that day. That surprised me because they were always together, like the three musketeers, you know?"

"Did you see them around?"

The doctor concentrated, trying to remember. "Actually, I did... I saw Luigi, but not with the Lobos. He was talking to the Pumas and seemed on good terms. Never saw Adriano though."

"Okay… A warning, Doc: don't help gangs again or you won't be able to carry on your "charitable" activity any longer… Do I make myself clear?"

The doctor nodded several times with force and watched with relief as the brothers left his practice.

The agent and the mathematician walked back to their vehicle. Charlie glanced at Don, who seemed lost in his thoughts.

"What's bothering you?"

"Why would a brother make friends with the gang that shot his sister? Especially if they are so close. That doesn't make sense," he replied getting into the SUV. "Unless he had another agenda."

"Like what? Revenge?"

"Maybe," he replied as he started the engine.

After calling the Bureau to order a search on the Mansinis, Don drove silently. Although it was hard for the professor to remain quiet for too long, he knew his brother needed some time to think over the case. So he took his laptop and started to work.

Don's phone rang. It was David.

"Don, we found the 771 guy. He's in rather bad shape. Whoever tried to treat him has gone. I'm sending you the coordinates now."

"We're on our way."

To be cont'ed

5


	6. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER SIX**

There wasn't much to do or see at the scene. The wounded man was being taken away by the EMTs. He was barely conscious and couldn't be interrogated. Whoever had tried to help him had vanished and there was no sign of the rest of the gang.

Don decided to leave David in charge and walked back to his car. He was about to open the door when a strange sensation made him stop.

"What is it?" Charlie asked.

Don scanned the perimeter but, seeing nothing suspicious, he shrugged off the feeling and got into his SUV.

"Nothing," he replied as he fastened his seatbelt.

They had reached the highway when Don announced, "There's a shop downtown specializing in gadgets and all kinds of things for weddings."

The professor lifted his head from his laptop and half-smiled. "Oh? How do you know that?"

"I drive by on a regular basis. I once stopped to have a look inside. They have interesting stuff. You might find some good ideas."

Charlie stared at Don, both bemused and amused. "You went into a wedding shop? You thinking of marrying Robin?"

Don shifted on his seat nervously and shrugged. "Maybe, one day. When we're both ready. We're still a long way from it though but… if we decide to go ahead, well… I want to be prepared."

Charlie smiled this time, excitement in his eyes. His brother was thinking of getting married. _Now that was some news!_

"Alright, I'll go and have a look," he replied politely. He wasn't too thrilled by the idea but he didn't want to sound as if he was disregarding his brother's suggestions.

Don went silent again before asking out of the blue, "Did you tell Amita how you feel about her?"

This time, the professor looked at Don, confused. "What do you mean? Of course I told her. I asked her to marry me!"

"No, I mean, did you ever tell her what she means to you. Deep inside?"

"Well, I told her I loved her. What else do you want me to say?"

Don glanced quickly at his brother, hesitated for a second before suggesting, "You could record a message on a DVD."

"A message?"

"To tell her your feelings for her. What and how much she really means to you... Sometimes it's easier to speak to a camera than to the person you love," he said with a shy smile. "And if you make a mistake or the words don't come out the way you wanted, you can always start again without having your head ripped off because you said the wrong thing."

Charlie mulled over that idea for a moment then slowly nodded. "Yeah! I like that. But what would I say? How would I start?"

"Best thing would be to write down what you want to say. Don't write a whole script, you won't stick to it and it won't sound genuine anyway. Just put down the main ideas. Once you've started, it'll come easily."

Charlie frowned and looked at Don suspiciously. "You've done that before, haven't you?"

Don stared straight at the road, trying to ignore his brother's eyes on him. Charlie leaned slightly forward to have a better look at his brother's face. Suddenly the thought hit him and he smiled, excitedly. "You recorded a message for Robin!"

Don cleared his throat, a little uncomfortable but didn't reply.

Charlie's smile widened even more as he was discovering a new side of his brother: _he was a timid romantic!_ "You know what? You're just a big softie playing a tough guy."

Don raised his eyebrows in surprise and half-laughed. "What?... Okay, maybe," he finally admitted. "But don't tell anyone, I have a reputation to keep… And anyway, it's not always easy to find the right words at the right time."

Charlie sat back in his seat and snorted a laugh. "You do that all the time when you talk down a suspect … And you're pretty good at it."

"That's completely different, Charlie. Telling someone you love her is not comparable to asking someone to surrender. That's negotiating. You tell them what _they_ want to hear to make them do what _you_ want them to do. That doesn't work in love… Trust me on that one."

Charlie glanced sideways at his brother and muttered with a smile, "Big softie."

This time, Don burst into laughter and was about to reply when his eyes caught something in the rear view mirror and his smile faded suddenly.

Charlie noticed the abrupt change in his brother and asked worryingly, "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure."

The professor glanced back but didn't see anything.

Don's face closed even more as he checked his rear view mirror. This time Charlie noticed a large black van closing in on them at an alarming speed and he braced himself, expecting the vehicle to hit them. The memories of the pick-up that had chased him before the driver fired at him, two years ago, suddenly came back to him and a cold sweat covered his upper lip.

Don sped up and tried to pull out but a second van came to block their way on the left.

"There's a vest on the back seat. Put it on!"

Charlie grabbed the bullet proof vest. "What…?"

"Put it on, Charlie!" Don ordered hurriedly.

Hastily, the mathematician obeyed. The expression on his brother's face clearly showed that the situation was serious and that Don wouldn't tolerate any arguing.

Suddenly, the van behind them accelerated. To prevent the collision, Don's only option was to speed up too. But a car was right in front of them and he couldn't pass it as the second van was still blocking their way.

Charlie swallowed and his whole body tensed in anticipation. There was no way they could avoid hitting the vehicle in front of them or being hit by the one behind.

"Hold on tight!" Don yelled as he sharply turned the steering wheel to the right.

The SUV jerked when it entered the hard shoulder, only just missing the front vehicle by a few inches.

"We have to leave the highway before somebody gets killed," he whispered as much to Charlie as to himself. He noticed an exit 500 yards ahead and increased speed, passing all the cars on the right, followed closely by the two vans. Charlie gripped his seat, unable to talk, his eyes riveted on the road.

Don managed to leave the highway without causing any accident, to his great relief, and the three vehicles were soon racing on a small road along the highway. Don kept zigzagging to avoid the vehicles in front of him and decided to turn onto a less frequented road. He knew there was an industrial park close by and was hoping to drop Charlie there before attracting the men away. But it was a long way before reaching the park and he wasn't sure he would make it.

"Call backup!"

Charlie jumped. "What? Oh! Yeah…Of course." He seized the radio, and forgetting everything he had learned during his FBI training, started, "This is Charles Eppes. I'm with my brother, Don and we are…"

"What's your code?" a woman's voice asked him calmly in the radio

"Code? I don't hav…"

"3695!" Don shouted, his eyes focused on the road. With a head movement, he ordered Charlie to bring the radio close to him. The mathematician orientated the radio so that his brother could speak while driving.

Don tightened his grip on the steering-wheel, keeping his eyes firmly on the road before saying, "3695 to Control. We're being chased by two black vans. We've just left exit 5 on the Harbor Freeway, heading east. I need urgent back-up and my team."

"One moment 3695…"

"Don," Charlie whispered. "They're not going to find us if you don't give them our precise position."

"There's a GPS in the SUV, Charlie," the agent reminded him. "They can pinpoint our position."

The radio came alive again before the professor could reply. "3695, Highway Patrol has a helicopter in the area. They're on their way now. Your team is rolling too."

"Thanks. Over."

Charlie replaced the radio then glanced at the vans behind before checking the speedometer, 70 mph. Although he had complete trust in his brother's driving abilities, he couldn't help feeling more than nervous. The road was not made to drive so fast on: it was narrow with ditches running along it on both sides and Don's constant zigzagging to prevent their pursuers from passing them was making him even more anxious.

His fear increased when he heard Don swear softly. A car was coming straight in front of them and the road was getting narrower. Charlie tensed even more. There was no way his brother could carry on at his current speed without hitting the vehicle.

"Don!" Charlie said more and more alarmed.

At the last moment, Don lifted his foot from the accelerator and slowed down. The van behind them took the advantage to pass the SUV, cutting in right in front of them. Don slammed on the brakes while the driver of the opposite car pressed his horn and shouted insults before driving away.

Suddenly turning his steering wheel to the left, Don made an impressive controlled skid and the Suburban brutally spun around by 180 degrees. Surprised by the maneuver, the driver of the following van didn't have time to straighten out and instead hit the rear of the SUV, before skidding and ending in one of the ditches. Don had expected the impact and managed to keep control of his vehicle. With both vans now behind him again, the agent pressed on the accelerator, the tires squealed painfully on the tarmac and, in a few seconds, the SUV had reached maximum speed. In different circumstances, Charlie would have found it exhilarating but not now, not while the second car was getting dangerously closer.

"Where is that chopper?" Don said in a breath. This time, he grabbed the radio and asked angrily, "3695 to control. Where is the helicopter? "

"3695, it is just flying over the…" The rest of the transmission was covered by the sound of heavy shooting.

Don pressed on Charlie's head to force him down.

"Stay low." He took the radio. "Control, we're under fire. We need back up now!"

Don dropped the radio to grip the steering wheel. "Charlie, grab my back-up gun at my right ankle. If they try and pass us, shoot."

"Don, I don't think I can…"

"Aim at the engine or better yet at the tires if you can. You're a good shot, you can do it."

Yes, his brother had taught him how to shoot and yes, he had amazed everybody during his FBI training but he wasn't under any threats at the time and was in control of his nerves. He wasn't like his brother who could keep his cool under stress.

Don noticed the puppy look on his brother's face and realized he was asking him too much. He felt immediately guilty. He knew Charlie would never recover if he killed someone, even if that someone was shooting at him. He knew from experience that no one ever totally got over killing somebody. He never got used to it even though it was a job he had chosen. That wasn't the case for Charlie and he had no right to ask him that.

"You know what? Just stay down and hold on, okay?"

For once, Charlie was more than happy to oblige.

The bullets kept coming at them and Don started to zigzag again, this time to avoid being hit. The mathematician glanced rapidly at the speedometer and immediately regretted it. They had reached 80mph and his brother didn't look like he intended to reduce his speed.

Suddenly a bullet went through the rear window before exploding the windshield. Broken glass rained on both men. Luckily, his shades protected Don's eyes. He looked down briefly at his brother, huddled up on his seat, his arms on his head.

The eldest man reached out for his brother worriedly. "Charlie, you okay?"

"Peachy," grumbled the professor.

Don leaned forward to clear the remaining pieces of glass. With both windshields gone, the inside of the SUV was swept by a powerful draft, increasing the feeling of vulnerability and making it harder to keep the vehicle under control. Their pursuers had gained ground and were now just behind them.

Charlie closed his eyes tight, his heart beating hard in his chest. He couldn't help screaming when their chasers hit the rear of the SUV, brutally pushing the vehicle forward. Don managed to straighten up but had to slow down. The van rammed into the side of the Suburban, forcing it off the road and straight into the ditch.

Don desperately tried to gain back control of the vehicle but the van kept hitting them and this time, he knew he wouldn't be able to avoid the crash.

"Charlie, hold on!" Don shouted.

Both men braced themselves for the impact. The SUV seemed to take off, missed the ditch and landed brutally on the other side then rolled over a couple of times and skid on its flank. It stopped suddenly, oscillating as if uncertain of which way to fall, then abruptly crashed back on its wheels. 

Don opened his eyes and felt something sticky running along his cheek. Groggily, he undid his belt then looked at Charlie as the professor moaned softly. He was about to help him when the sound of a car stopping caught his attention. _Their assailants were back, he had to protect Charlie._ He tried to open his door but it was stuck. He managed to get out through the broken windshield but his legs buckled under him and he fell on his knees next to the SUV. Silhouettes were running in his direction and he drew his gun to shoot at them. His sight was blurred and he squinted to aim. But he must have been accurate enough as one of the shapes collapsed and he heard it swearing. The second silhouette helped the first one to get up then they ran back to the road.

The agent watched them leave, a little puzzled. He expected more resistance from them. He got up with difficulty, his head was weighing a ton and the ground started to spin. He blinked several times to try to clear his sight but it didn't seem to be very effective. Suddenly he heard a noise coming from the other side of his vehicle and he turned around as fast as his swimming head allowed him and squinted to focus.

Charlie soon appeared, pale and shivering. His head was hurting a little but it was mainly his left arm that bothered him. It was probably broken.

Don swayed and leaned against his vehicle to steady himself then apologized in a slurred voice, "Charlie, I'm so sorry."

Charlie lifted his head towards his brother, worried. "Don!" he shouted when he saw him listing to his side.

Don awkwardly groped at the metal frame of the SUV to try to keep his balance but his head was swimming even more as the roar in his ears got louder and louder.

He soon realized that the roar he was hearing was in fact the engine of the helicopter that had landed on the road. His fuzzy mind also deduced that was why the bad guys had run away.

He felt someone approach and call his name. It wasn't his brother's voice and he got worried. A white shape bent over him and that's when he realized he was lying on the ground.

"Agent Eppes?... Do you hear me?... Don?"

"Don?" This time, it was Charlie and he tried to reply.

"Charlie… Must get the guys in the vans."

"Don't worry about them. They didn't go very far."

"Got them?" the agent asked as he felt himself being lifted.

"Yeah. Well, most of them anyway… Can I go with him?"

_Go with whom?_ wondered Don.

"We need to check your arm," the other voice replied. "It's probably broken, so yes, you are definitely coming with us. We're going to fly you both to the hospital."

Don wanted to protest. There was no time for hospital. He needed to catch the guys who had dared put his brother's life in danger. But somehow, the words wouldn't come out.

"Don… Stay with me, bro!" Charlie's voice seemed to resonate, as if he was very, very far away.

He felt a hand shaking him gently. He wanted to tell them not to do that because it was making him feel sick and it hurt his head too.

"Don please, you have to…." He never got to hear what his brother had to tell him. He was out before Charlie could finish his sentence.

To be cont'ed

5


	7. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER SEVEN  
**  
"Don? Can you hear me?... I think he's waking up," a female voice said.

"Yes he is… You stay with him, I'll go get the doctor," a male voice replied.

He felt a hand covering his. Oh! He knew that touch, that skin. "Robin?" he whispered sleepily.

"Yes. Who else did you expect?"

He could hear the tease in her voice. He slowly opened his eyes and waited for his sight to focus then smiled. "Hey," he said softly.

"Hey," she replied in the same tone. She pulled her chair closer to the bed and gently squeezed his hand. "How are you feeling?"

Not sure what to answer, he decided to assess the situation first. He raised his hand to his brow and felt several butterfly bandages just above his left eye. Then, gingerly moving his fingers to the back of his head, he discovered a large bump. _Okay, that explained the headache._ He shifted position and winced: his body was stiff and aching all over.

"Like I've been in a car accident," he joked then his face changed as he remembered about his brother and he asked with panic in his voice while trying to sit up. "Charlie! How's Charlie?"

Robin pressed a hand on his shoulder to force him down. "Hey, hey. Calm down. He's fine. Look, he's sleeping right there," she said, pointing at the bed next to his.

His father came in, followed by the doctor. "We knew you'd want to be together. Your brother made a huge fuss because he wanted to stay with you instead of being treated… He's starting to behave like you. I'm beginning to wonder who is the most protective between you two."

"How is he?"

"He has a broken arm," the doctor replied. "Apart from that, he's alright. You were both incredibly lucky."

Don closed his eyes in relief then looked at his father, a look of guilt crossing his face. "Dad, I'm sorry. He should never have been with me." He raised his hand to knead his brow. "He could've been killed." He closed his eyes again at the thought of that eventuality.

Alan reached out to touch his arm and said in a placating voice, "Well, stop torturing yourself. He's in one piece. You both are and that's the most important thing."

Don looked at his father, who gave him a reassuring smile.

The Doctor decided it was time to check on his patient. "How is your head?"

"A bit… sore but okay."

Alan snorted unhappily. "Sore? You have a concussion. So I'm pretty sure it's more than `a bit sore`."

After verifying that his double-vision had gone and the dizziness had subsided, the doctor looked at the cuts on his face caused by the windshield then checked the wound on his left arm. "According to our records, this GSW happened this morning?"

Don swore mentally. He had told neither his father, nor Robin about it. "It's just a graze."

The doctor nodded to acknowledge Don's comment. "And the bruises I noticed all over your body are due to a fall," the doctor continued.

Don tried to ignore the looks that Alan and Robin were shooting at him and replied as casually as possible, "Yesterday."

"You seem to have quite a busy life, Agent."

"And a very dangerous one, too," Alan finished, staring at his son angrily.

The doctor half-smiled then announced, "I want to keep you under observation tonight. Your concussion is mild but it still needs to be monitored. Bearing no complication, you should be able to leave first thing tomorrow morning."

"And my brother?"

"He's going to stay with us a little longer but he should be back at home some time tomorrow."

As soon as the doctor left the room, Alan and Robin turned to Don, and standing on each side of his bed, they looked at him severely. He felt like a mouse cornered by two hungry cats.

"So you've been shot?" Alan started.

"When were you planning to tell us?" finished Robin.

"Listen, it's nothing. Really… I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to freak out for nothing, alright?"

"Nothing?… Because being shot is nothing?"

"Dad, please." Don really didn't feel the strength to argue.

The elder Eppes sighed deeply before adding, "Well, as I said, you're in one piece. That's what matters."

"But stop keeping your injuries from us. You don't need to go through that alone," Robin chided him gently.

Alan snorted. "Mmm, good luck with that!"

Don rolled his eyes. "That's exactly why I don't tell you. You make a big fuss over nothing. Honestly… "

Alan gave up, knowing it would be useless to argue. Robin remained silent too but smiled inwardly: she had plenty of ideas and knew many ways to make her pig-headed boyfriend confide, ways that she definitely didn't want to discuss in Alan's presence. So she just smiled and kissed Don tenderly on the lips.

"Are we interrupting?"

The trio turned around to look at David and Colby, who were standing in the doorway.

"No, no. Come on in, guys." Don waved to invite them in, relieved to see them. He wasn't going to be the center of the conversation anymore.

David approached. "How are you? We came earlier but you were still out."

"Charlie told us what happened," Colby informed him.

"Did you get the guys who attacked us?"

David briefly nodded. "We caught the guys who were in the van you ran off the road. The others managed to escape but we have their whole territory under surveillance. They won't get away."

"Who were they and why did they attack us?"

"The 771. It was a reprisal for throwing the grenade at them during the raid this morning. They were watching the place where their guy was being treated and they recognized you when you stopped by," David explained.

"Yes, I had the feeling we were being watched when we left," Don remembered. "But I didn't see anyone suspicious at the time."

"Yesterday, the Lobos were threatening you, today it's the 771. You do know how to make friends, Don," Colby joked but he quickly realized he should have kept quiet when Alan cried out:

"Oh, because being shot at and driven off the road isn't enough for you? You have to piss off all the gangs of LA?"

"Well you know me. I always aim to please." Then he turned back to his men before his father could say anything else. "What about the Mansinis? Did you manage to get anything on them?"

Again David briefly nodded. "We found something very interesting. The girl is still with the Lobos and-"

"Luigi belonged to the Pumas and Adriano to the 771," Don finished.

Both agents looked at him, astounded.

"Uh… Yeah… But how do you know?" Colby asked.

"I kept wondering why the three of them weren't in the same gang. Not only they weren't but one brother was friends with the gang that had wounded his sister. Allson told me they were very close so that didn't make any sense."

"So what?" David wondered. "You think they're working undercover or something?"

"It's more infiltration and manipulation than undercover… I'm not sure but I wouldn't be surprised if they were behind the gang war."

"But why? For what purpose?" David was confused.

"Not to mention that would be extremely dangerous for them. See what happened to the sister. She got caught in the middle of a shooting," Colby pointed out.

"Something must've gone wrong and they were not able to warn her. If we could check, I'm sure we'd find out that they were always away when their gangs were attacked."

"Alright… Maybe… But why? I don't get it. Why would they do that?" David couldn't see the point.

"I don't know David. We need to find them... Interrogate that kid from the Lobos… what's his name?" Suddenly feeling exhausted, Don closed his eyes to try and remember the name of the man. "Pedro Maltez. Grill the guys who… uh… attacked us today... and uh…" He stopped and rubbed his temples, exasperated as he had more and more difficulties concentrating.

Alan took a step forward. "Alright, that's enough for now, Donnie. You're tired and you need to rest. I'm sure David and Colby know what to do." He turned to the two agents and gestured toward the door. "Gentlemen."

"Sure, see you later Don," David quickly said while Colby just raised his hand to say goodbye. Both men could see the fatigue on their boss's face but, mainly, they didn't want to risk upsetting the elder Eppes. They knew what Don was like when he was cross and that was bad enough. They definitely didn't want to experience an angry Alan. They immediately left.

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In the interrogation room, Nikki was starting to lose patience. Her prisoner, one of the men who had attacked the Eppes brothers, wasn't talking. Liz and Robin were watching through the glass.

"I'm going in. He might be more loquacious if there are two of us," Liz suggested.

Robin stopped her. "No! Let me try…. Please."

Liz hesitated then nodded. "Okay, you go."

Robin entered the interrogation room. She leaned against the wall, arms crossed, a cold look on her face.

"You tried to kill Agent Eppes. Attempted murder against a FBI agent." She shook her head and made a face, pretending to be sorry. "It's not looking good for you. The only way to avoid the chair is to help us and to tell us what we want to know."

The prisoner, in his early twenties, looked at the two women with disdain and assurance. "I didn't kill nobody. I wasn't even driving the fucking van… The Fed almost killed us. That guy is a danger on the road."

Robin slowly walked over to the prisoner, her eyes became harder and she said in a low voice, a cruel grin on her lips, "You were in the van, that's enough for me." She leaned towards him to look at him squarely. "We're going to release you and spread the word in the streets that you are a snitch working for LAPD."

"I'm not!" protested the young man.

"Who do you think your friends will believe? I heard they had very inventive ways to deal with traitors… If you think I'm bluffing, go ahead, try me."

The prisoner quickly glanced at Nikki then at Robin. He tried to withstand her gaze but the coldness on her face convinced him that she meant what she had said. He opened his mouth to answer back but his words froze in his throat. His eyes darted from one woman to the other; both were staring at him with the same hard and determined expression. A cold shiver of fear ran along his spine: he knew he was trapped.

Colby and David had just joined Liz to watch the interrogation and both men almost felt sorry for the prisoner. They had already seen Robin in action when they were trying to locate Buck Winters. She had interrogated his accomplice, leaving the man with no other option but to cooperate.

"Man, when things get personal, she's as protective and resolute as Don," David commented.

Colby shrugged. "What did you expect? The guy tried to kill Don. It's understandable."

David glanced sideways at his partner suspiciously, remembering his reaction when their boss had been stabbed. "You're not planning to go in and break his fingers, are you?"

Colby shrugged again, uncomfortable. "No… of course not."

The halfhearted respond did nothing to reassure David, who looked warily at his partner for another second before refocusing on the interrogation.

"I'm dead if I speak," the young man moaned.

"You're dead if you don't," Nikki stated. "We can protect you if you help us. But if you want to take your chances with your friends, fine by me," she said raising her hands to show her lack of concern.

He knew he didn't stand a chance if he was suspected of being an informer. Defeated, he asked, "What do you want to know?"

Nikki held pictures of the Mansinis in front of him. "Where can we find them?"

The young man looked at the photos, a little surprised. He pointed at one of the brothers. "That's Adriano. Why are you after him?"

"Never mind that. Where is he?"

He looked up at the women, hesitated then carried on reluctantly, "Sometimes he hangs out at the Café de Gente."

"What about the two others?" Nikki pressed him.

The prisoner sighed deeply then unenthusiastically pointed his chin at the picture of the girl. "That's Isabella Montana. She's the-"

"We know who she is. What we want to know is _where_ she is," Robin reminded him curtly.

He bit his lower lip and cringed. Then he took another deep breath before saying, "She lives with Mickey, the Chief of the Lobos Rojos. I don't know his real name." Then he quickly added before he was asked, "I just know he owns a villa called `The Terminator's den`." He snorted a laugh. "Can you believe that guy? He actually called his villa "The Terminator's den"! Who does he think he is?" he said, appalled.

"Villa? You mean a bungalow," Nikki clarified.

"No, I mean a villa. The guy's rolling in it."

"How do you know he's the head of the Lobos? No one seems to know who it is?" the agent asked.

This time, he smiled ironically. "As if people would talk to the cops… or the feds?"  
Robin nodded before adding, "Okay. What about him?"

The young man took the picture of Luigi, the second brother. "I'm not sure about him. I saw him several times with the Pumas. I think he's one of their lieutenants. But they're all…" he trailed off.

"Dead?" Nikki finished for him. "Not him. We didn't find his body in the warehouse. So he must be somewhere."

He shook his head. "I don't know."

"Wrong answer. Try again." Robin was getting impatient.

"Honest, I don't know. We thought they were all at the warehouse when… I mean…"

"When you executed them. But as I just said, his body wasn't amongst the victims. So where can he be?" Nikki asked.

It was clear by the look on his face that the young man didn't know.

"Stay here," Nikki ordered as both women walked to the door.

"Hey, we had a deal. You are going to protect me, right? I'm going into a witness protection or something?"

"Something… called prison. But we'll make sure nothing happens to you," Robin assured him. After all, he had kept his end of the bargain. Not that she had much compassion for him –he and his accomplices had almost killed Don and Charlie, but she didn't want him to be murdered. There had been enough dead already.

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David and Colby immediately started trying to locate Mickey's villa while Liz and Nikki searched for the Café de Gente. It was getting late and Robin decided to go back to the hospital to check up on Don. When she arrived, Alan and Amita were still there. Charlie was awake and Don was asleep. She smiled: those two never seemed to be on the same wavelength, even in their sleep.

"How is he?" she whispered, gently stroking Don's hair, making sure not to touch the bandages covering the side of his brow.

Alan smiled and said wryly, "Well, he bravely fought to stay awake but sleep won."

"He didn't stand a chance against all the drugs they're giving us. These painkillers are…killers," Charlie stated with a yawn.

"I think it's time for you to get some rest too, Charlie. I'll be back tomorrow," Amita promised.

Both women kissed their respective boyfriends, feeling worn out after the fright they had. Neither wanted to think about how lucky they were that neither of the brothers were killed.

Alan noticed the exhaustion on their faces. He closed the door behind him and once in the corridor jokingly said, "Living with my sons is not always a pleasure cruise, is it?"

Robin gave a brief smile. "True, but they're worth it though, even if I am going to have gray hair before my time if Don carries on like that."

"I know. I wish he slowed down a notch. Maybe you'll be able to control him."

Robin snorted. "Control? No offense, but Don isn't the kind of man one can handle easily."

Alan smiled, a little spark in the eyes. "Come on Robin, don't be so modest. Women are very good at manipulating men." He promptly raised his hand in front of him. "I mean it in a positive way. I've seen you both at work and you have my complete support. It takes women with strength of will and intelligence to deal with my two extremely stubborn sons."

Amita and Robin smiled back. Alan carried on, "Charlie, being a genius, cannot stand to be wrong. As for Don, well he's the typical Alpha male who doesn't like people to question his orders or to give him orders." His smile widened. "I'm so lucky to have you both in the family. I'm getting too old to deal with those two on my own!"

To be cont'ed

5


	8. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER EIGHT**

"Okay, what do we have?" Don asked as he entered the conference room.

David turned around, a little surprised to see his boss at work but made no comment, and replied, "We've located Isabella Mansini. Or at least, we know where and with whom she lives."

"It seems that after her boyfriend got killed, she switched to the Big Chief," Colby explained.

Don frowned. "The Lobos? You mean you know who he is?"

Colby grimaced. "Not quite. We have a name, though. Mickey."

"I have LAPD watching the place. They'll let us know if there is any movement there," David assured.

"We're also watching the café where her brother Adriano usually hangs out," Nikki said.

"Good. What about the other brother, Luigi?"

"We haven't been so lucky. We don't know yet where he is but my guess is that, if we catch the sister or the brother, he'll eventually show up," David supposed.

Don nodded. "That was the plan, David. I want to be notified as soon as we have something on one of them. Good work everyone."

"Actually, you should congratulate Robin. She's the one who made the guy talk," Colby said.

Don looked at him, amused. His team noticed that it didn't surprise him at all.

"Boy, she can be scary when she wants to," Nikki commented.

_That_ surprised Don, who raised an eyebrow. "She scared _you_?"

Nikki nodded with force. "Oh! Yeah! Man, the way she looked at the guy, I thought she was going to eat him alive. I swear Boss, never think of cheating on her or you're dead meat."

Don burst into laughter. "Thanks for the warning. I'll keep that in mind."

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They waited three days before LAPD finally called. There was movement at Mickey's villa. Don sent David and Colby to check on it and they came back with a furious Isabella Mansini.

She was taken to the interrogation room where Don was already waiting for her. With a hand gesture, he ordered her to sit down opposite him at the table and then he waited in silence.

A little taken aback by his attitude, she obeyed. She expected him to question her, shout at her or even mistreat her. She had heard all kinds of stories about interrogation methods but she'd never heard of any involving silence.

Don remained quiet, just watching her, leaning in his chair.

After a while, the young woman couldn't stand it anymore and said, "What are you waiting for? Your boss?"

"I am the boss," he replied quietly. His answer unsettled her even more.

"So what do you want? Why am I here?" she asked with arrogance.

Don, still staring at her, said, "Isabella Mansini."

She was about to answer back when she realized that he had used her real name. Her eyes locked on his for a moment then she finally said, "Okay, so you know my name. So what?"

"Where are your brothers, Adriano and Luigi?"

Again she stared at him warily, her eyes narrowing. She tried to judge whether he really knew something or was just fishing for information but his face was a mask showing no emotions. She fidgeted on her seat, trying to regain some self-control but the agent's constant gaze on her was making her more and more nervous.

Don was about to reply when the door opened and Liz entered, holding a folder. She pointed at something on a page. The lead agent took the folder, nodded and Liz left. He placed the folder on the table, smiled strangely and started to read out loud.

"Isabelle Mansini, aka Montana, aka Marple. You like names starting with an `M` don't you? The trouble is that you can change names as often as you want, that won't change your fingerprints… or your DNA. And that's a shame because your DNA was matched with one found at a crime scene five years ago in New York. And from what I read, all the evidence points at you as the killer." He leaned forward. "So, you see, now I have a good reason to keep you here."

"I'll tell you nothing."

"Whether you talk or not doesn't matter."

She suddenly understood. "You're going to use me to get to my brothers!"

Don got up, took the folder and left without answering.

Isabella shouted, "That won't work! They will find you and kill you for that!"

_Great, more death threats. Lucky Robin or Dad aren't here to hear them. I'd be good for another lecture,_ he thought as he closed the door behind him.

David was waiting for him outside the room. "How do you want to play it?"

"Her brothers must know by now that she's been arrested. They're going to try to get her back. Spread the word in the streets that she'll be transferred to the detention center tomorrow," he ordered. "You'll be in charge of the operation."

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Posted inside a surveillance truck, Liz was watching the surroundings on the monitors. She suddenly tapped on the technician's shoulder. "Could you zoom in on this vehicle, here?" The technician obeyed. She squinted slightly, trying to see better then seized the radio and announced, "Possible suspects in a dark blue Honda parked two hundred yards left of the entrance."

"We need to be sure," David replied. "Send the girl."

Adriano and Luigi had parked their car at a safe distance from the back exit of the FBI building. They knew that their sister would leave from there. Soon, four agents appeared surrounding the young woman and forced her into a van.

"It's her!" Adriano said angrily.

Luigi armed his machine gun and replied, "Okay. Just follow them. We can't attack now. The place is swarming with feds."

"Suspects are armed with automatic weapons," Liz confirmed.

"Okay let's go," ordered David.

Adriano started the engine but the van their sister was in didn't move.

"What are they doing?" Luigi worried.

Suddenly, Adriano caught a shadow in his rear view mirror. Half crouched, David was slowly and silently approaching, holding a gun. Adriano looked over his shoulders and saw Colby moving on the other side of the car.

"Shit, the cops!" he shouted as he put all his weight on the accelerator. The two agents fired but the car had already turned into another street.

"Don, they saw us," David shouted in his mic as he ran back to his car, followed by Colby.

Don hadn't quite agreed with David's plan. He would have preferred cars to block the adjacent streets and more agents to surround the suspects. But his SAC wanted a softer approach. David was afraid that, if the Mansini brothers saw too many agents, they would shoot and it would end in a blood bath. Having given full command to David, Don chose not to go against his decision.

Instead he stayed in his car ready to back-up his men if needed. When he saw the car driving offat top speed, he swore under his breath and started the chase. There was one thing he hadn't mentioned to David though. He had contacted the ADS, the police air unit, to ask for a helicopter to be prepared to take off from the FBI building roof in case of problem. The chopper was in the air as soon as they received Don's orders.

"3695 to Tango Charlie 468, what's your position?"

"Tango Charlie 468 to 3695. We have eyes on the suspects' vehicle. They're entering San Diego Freeway, heading south. It's going to be hard to keep an eye on them with this traffic."

The co-pilot looked down and noticed a black SUV with its flashing lights on. "3695, you are about five hundred yards behind the suspects."

Don sped up and passed the cars in front of them. He positioned himself just behind the brothers and both cars started a dangerous pursuitbetween the other vehicles: the brothers trying to outdistance Don, the agent trying not to lose them.

The traffic was getting more and more dense and Don had to slow down. He really didn't want another accident: he could still feel the effects of the previous crash.

They passed Venice, then Marina Del Rey and the airport.

"3695, suspects have abandoned their vehicle at the train station."

Don swore. _They were going to escape_. Before the agent could reply, the pilot added, "3695, a train has arrived. One of the suspects got on."

"Which direction?"

"Redondo beach. The other suspect is still on the platform."

"Keep watching the train until LAPD or one of my men can take over. I'll try and intercept the one at the station."

"Roger that 3695."

Don pulled over at the bus terminal and rushed towards the station. The elevator was filled with tourists and their luggage. He tried the stairs but a group of students carrying heavy backpacks were blocking the way. He finally managed to reach the top of the stairs, just in time to see Luigi stepping into a train and the doors closing behind him.

Don closed his eyes in frustration then called David to announce he had lost the suspect. David didn't have better news. The helicopter had lost the other brother.

"Sorry Don," David said in a pitiful voice. When Don didn't reply, he knew in was in trouble.

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The agents spent the rest of the day trying to get information on where the two brothers could hide but without much success. Late in the afternoon, Don decided to stop at Charlie's. He found him working in the garage.

"Hey Buddy. Shouldn't you be resting, with your broken arm?"

Charlie turned around to look at his brother. "I'm fine. Any news?"

Don sat down on the couch and rubbed his face with both hands. "No. They're going to be on their guards now. We blew our only chance to catch them." He sighed wearily.

"They're not going to give up on their sister. They'll try again to free her."

"Oh, definitely! That's what worries me. At least this morningwewere holding all the cards. Now we have to wait for their next move," the agent replied, both upset and frustrated. "Did you have a look at the files I sent you?"

"Yes, but to be honest, I don't have enough data to pull something out. Those guys could be anywhere."

"Not anywhere Charlie. The Mansinis infiltrated three different gangs. Surely they must have a central meeting point. We also have the villa of that guy, Mickey, where Isabella Mansini was arrested. Maybe you could do a triangulation?"

"I can try but I can't promise anything. I really don't have much to work with…" He stopped then put his hands together and half-smiled. "But I could try something else, though. It's based on…" He stopped again. The look on his brother's face told him he was not in a mood for a math lecture. "But it's going to take some time," he finished quickly.

"Okay, do whatever you can, Charlie. I'll appreciate any help."

Alan and Amita entered the garage.

"Donnie! I thought I heard your voice. Are you hungry? There's some pizza left."

While both mathematicians started to discuss Charlie's idea, Alan tugged Don towards the kitchen then to the table and pushed him into a chair.

"Sit down. I'm going to reheat the pizza."

"Dad, I can do it myself, you know," the agent protested softly.

"Yes, yes I know that, but I don't see you so often now that you and Robin are back together. Not that I'm complaining about you being with Robin, far from it. But you're still my boy and it's normal that I take care of you. So, sit down and let me prepare you something to eat." He looked at Don intently and frowned. "Did you have lunch today?"

"Dad," Don moaned.

"What? It wouldn't be the first time you skipped lunch because you were too busy… And you look beat by the way. Bad day?" Alan asked as he put the remains of the pizza in the microwave.

Don rubbed his eyes. "Yeah, you could say that… We almost had the brothers Mansini and we let them go."

"How?"

Don shrugged. "Bad luck, I guess."

Alan frowned. He knew there was more to it. "Mmm… How so?"

Don hesitated and glanced nervously at his watch then scratched the back of his head. "I… I gave the command to David and, let's just say that he didn't … make… the right decision." He shook his head. "Actually it's my fault. I had the feeling it would go wrong but I let him go ahead with his plan anyway. It's my fault," he repeated.

Alan observed his son for a short moment before sitting next to him. "If David wants to be a lead agent one day, he'll have to face his mistakes. You put him in charge. He screwed up: his responsibility, not yours."

"It doesn't work that way, Dad. Alright he was in charge but I'm still the boss. So the responsibility is mine. We could've had those guys if I had…"

"Don!" Alan cut him off with a severe tone. "There's no point regretting what happened today. Don't beat yourself up now, it's too late anyway. You think it's your fault? Fine, there's nothing I can say that'll change your mind. But there is one thing I know, it's that you did your best. Don't look back." The timer of the microwave rang. Alan gently patted his son's knee. "Your dinner's ready." He got up. "You're staying over tonight?" He placed the piece of pizza on a plate and gave it to his son.

Don grimaced quickly. "I don't know Dad. Now that Amita lives here with Charlie, I feel like I'm intruding. They deserve some privacy and… and… "

"What should I say then?" Alan snorted unhappily. He knew exactly what Don was talking about. He too felt like he was imposing sometimes. "Alright, so you're going back to your apartment. That's what you're saying."

"It's better for everyone," the agent replied, biting into the piece of pizza.

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Don felt like he had just closed his eyes when his alarm clock went off. He stretched, got up and put the coffee machine on before going to take a shower. He was pouring himself some coffee when he noticed there was a message on his cell phone. It was Charlie. Don smiled when he heard the time of the message: 1 am. _Who's the workaholic?_ he wondered as he pressed the key to listen to the message.

"_Hey Bro. My computer has just finished its analysis. I have a class tomorrow morning that I really can't cancel. Can you come by? I'll explain to you what I found. See you."_

Twenty minutes later, he was parking his motorcycle in the alleyway leading to the back garden and entered the craftsman house.

"Charlie!" he called out. Then he stopped short. Something was amiss, although he couldn't tell what it was. Instinctively he placed his hand on his gun, ready to draw it and stepped forward carefully.

"Dad? Charlie?" he called again, his eyes darting around the room. He moved slowly towards the kitchen and was about to push the door when it burst open, making him jump and take one step back.

Alan appeared, closely followed by two men threatening Charlie and Amita with a gun. Don drew his glock and pointed it at the men. It was the Mansini brothers.

To be cont'ed

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	9. Chapter 9

**CHAPTER NINE**

The Mansinis stepped forward, Adriano holding Amita in a choke hold while covering Don, and Luigi pressing his gun against Charlie's temple. Alan was too terrified to move.

"Come on Fed, we are two against one. Put your weapon down if you don't want them dead."

Don refused to obey. His gun was the only weight in the balance. If he dropped it, they would have the entire advantage.

Seeing that he wasn't moving, Luigi said, "We want Isabella. So until we got her back, we will keep one of them… or both. What do you think, Fed?"

"That's not going to happen. Let them go."

The Mansinis saw the determination in Don's eyes and knew things wouldn't go smoothly. Their plan had been to take a hostage to put the pressure on the FBI and on Don more specifically, since he was the lead agent. They had not anticipated him being there.

In a split second, Don reviewed the different options he had and could only think of one, although he knew it was against the normal procedure. But right now, rules were the least of his problems. "You don't need them," he said, lowering his gun. "The FBI will refuse to negotiate. Take me instead. It will have more impact."

Adriano quickly glanced at his brother, who shook his head slightly then looked back at Don.

"Sorry Fed but you're too dangerous. We'd rather play it safe."

"I won't try anything," Don promised.

"Like we're gonna trust a cop!" Luigi snarled.

"You don't need both of us. Take me and leave her alone," Charlie said. "I'm a mathematician. I'm not a danger to you, I can't fight back."

"Charlie!" Alan and Don shouted.

The Mansinis seemed to mull over the professor's proposition for a short moment, before answering, "Ok. You come with us, Math guy. I hope your brother will be intelligent enough not to try anything or you're dead."

"No, wait!" Don tried, aiming at the men again.

"Sorry Eppes. Our choice is made. We'll call you in a couple of hours. You'd better have Isabella freed by then."

Adriano pushed Amita brutally in front of him. Don caught her and pulled her behind him to protect her. The Mansinis slowly walked backward towards the doors. Luigi was pressing his gun against Charlie's head and using him as human shield while Adriano was covering Don, who was following them, firmly aiming his glock at them.

The agent couldn't try anything, not while his brother was in the line of fire. He watched, powerless, as Charlie was pushed inside the car waiting for them in the street and the brothers drove away.

"Dad, call David! Tell them to trace my cell phone," he shouted as he ran to his bike and put his helmet on before riding off at top speed.

Alan rushed to the phone, closely followed by Amita.

"Alan? What's going on?" David asked, immediately concerned by the tone of the elderly man.

Colby turned around in his chair and looked at his partner questioningly. When he saw David's face change as he was listening, Granger knew something was seriously wrong.

David waved to attract the rest of the team's attention while replying, "Ok, Alan. Calm down. Stay where you are, I'll send someone right away and we'll take care of the rest."

He hung up and explained in a slightly shaky voice, "The Mansinis took Charlie as leverage to get their sister back. Don went after them… on his bike."

"Great! He'll be an easy target if they shoot at him," Liz commented unhappily.

"Nikki, go to Alan's. Amita's there too. Take their statements. Colby, we need to locate the brothers. Trace Don's cell, it must be on. Once we've got their position, call LAPD and tell them not to intervene but to keep an eye on their progress. Liz, call Robin. See if she can get Isabella Mansini out of jail."

Liz stared at David incredulously. "You're not seriously considering exchanging her? That won't help Charlie and the FBI won't negotiate anyway."

"I know but I want her here. If they think we're ready to deal, we should be able to save some time and safely free Charlie."

Liz shook her head, unconvinced. "That's counting out Don. He's not going to wait for us. If he sees an opportunity to save his brother, he'll seize it. With Charlie's life on the line, he won't hesitate to confront them whether on his own or with us. Meaning that they're both in danger right now."

"I know that, thank you!" David replied a little abruptly. He didn't need anyone to remind him what was at stake. "That's why we need to locate them quickly. Come on, guys, let's go!"

It took them five minutes to trace Don's position. He was heading towards the mountains.

David grimaced. "It's gonna take us too long to get there."

Colby grabbed the phone. "I'll ask for a helicopter to pick us up."

David turned to Liz. "What about the sister?"

"She should be here soon. Robin's working on it."

"Good. Stay here and wait for her. Isabella's brothers will certainly want to talk to her. Act as if we are considering their demand. They've got to believe we are going to comply."

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Don knew he had an advantage on the Mansinis. They hadn't seen him arriving on his bike and consequently, they didn't pay attention to the biker driving a few yards behind them. They expected a SUV or a similar vehicle to follow them but not a motorcycle. Don made sure to keep his distance and when the traffic became almost non-existent as they reached the mountains, he slowed down to stay well out of sight.

One hour later, the brothers finally stopped in front of a lodge situated in the middle of a glade, two hundred yards away from the main road. On the right side of the cabin, a path bordered with large rocks, was snaking up a steep hill. The mount and the road were separated by a little forest.

Charlie was pulled out of the car and pushed towards the lodge. He couldn't help looking around for his brother. He knew Don had followed them, even if the professor didn't see him. His trust in his elder brother was such that he didn't feel scared when he was brutally shoved inside the cabin. All he had to do was to hold on until Don found a way to free him.

The cabin was minimalist: a table, two chairs, a sort of stove that also acted as a heater, and a bed. It was probably a shelter used by hunters or hikers during the summer season. The professor was pushed into a chair and tied up. He couldn't help a cry of pain when the rope put pressure on his broken arm.

Luigi checked his watch. "Right, it's time to call the cops." He grabbed his machine gun and casually placed it on his shoulder before leaving.

"Your brother needs to be armed to make a phone call?" Charlie asked, puzzled.

Don stopped by the side of the road, staying safely out of sight behind the trees and waited until the three men were inside the lodge. He let out a sigh of relief when he saw his brother moving under his own power. He had been afraid that the brothers might have hurt him. Then he hid his bike behind a large rock and sprinted to the cabin. He approached silently and flattened himself against the wall, near the window. He then carefully peered inside and was not too pleased to see his brother restrained, although that didn't surprise him. He winced, however, when the mathematician started to ask questions. He knew how volatile men like the Mansinis could be: one word too many and they could blow up.

The question seemed to amuse Adriano.

"The signal is very weak around here. And we suspect that your friends, the Feds, are out there, trying to locate you. If they arrive, we want to be ready to welcome them," he replied with irony in his voice.

Charlie swallowed hard. He was confident that Don was somewhere near but his calm was fading rapidly at the thought that the agent might be shot. To forget his fears, he tried to concentrate on the case.

"Why… Why did the three of you join different gangs? I mean rival gangs. I mean…"

Adriano raised a hand to stop the professor. "I know what you mean." He stayed quiet for a second, dwelling on whether he should reply or not. He thoughtfully eyed his prisoner then casually leaned against the table.

"Leading a gang is like having your own army. You get rid of your enemies and you become more powerful. The bigger your territory, the richer you get."

Charlie frowned, not sure he was following what the man was getting at. Adriano noticed the confusion on his face and carried on, "The plan was to get rid of the leaders in order to run their businesses. Of course, we couldn't kill them ourselves, it would've been too dangerous and impossible to control the rest of the gangs. We wanted both their men and their territories."

"So you started a gang war?"

Adriano nodded, obviously proud of himself. "Being inside, we had all the information we needed. All we had to do was to identify the two less violent gangs and make them fight against each other. Once they were weakened and their leaders out of the way, the third gang would come and make an offer they couldn't refuse: join us or die. Isabella persuaded the Lobos to raid a warehouse on the Pumas' territory. Of course, she did it in such a way that they thought it was their idea. She's very good at that. Then she gave me the details of the operation. So I warned the Pumas about it and suggested to let the Lobos do the break-in _then_ to rob them. The Pumas liked the idea of letting their enemies work for them. We knew that would start a vendetta. And it did," Adriano finished proudly.

"How did you involve the 771?"

"Ah, that was a little trickier. They are more professional in their organization and much more powerful too; but they are greedy and always willing to expand their markets. Luigi convinced the 771 to wait until the Lobos and the Pumas were weakened enough to take them over. Then we would've gotten rid of the chiefs of the 771, leaving clues incriminating the cops. We would've taken the command and controlled the three territories."

Charlie shook his head in disgust. "You started a gang war and had all those people killed just to control their territories?"

"That's what we called strategy, Professor. You push your enemies to kill each other and when they were all routed, you tell them the only way to survive is to join force, under your command of course. As I said, it's a proposition they couldn't refuse. Those kids are easy to manipulate. All they want is someone to follow, to obey. If Luigi, Isabella and I had told them it was the way to go, they would've been more than happy to believe it."

Charlie understood now. "To them, you were members of rival gangs, enemies. So if you'd told them that the three of you were ready to put your differences aside to work together, they would've followed you… Mmm hmm. Don't you think they would've rebelled? They'd been trying to kill each other for months and, all of a sudden, they would've made peace? Just because you said so? That sounds a little simplistic to me."

Adriano smiled condescendingly, as if the mathematician was a young child who didn't understand what the grownups were talking about. "You have no idea how easy it is to manipulate people, to turn them around, to make them do what _you_ want them to do."

"No but I'm guessing you have some practice in this field."

Adriano shook his head slowly. "More than you can think…" His face suddenly darkened and his eyes became harder. "Of course, now because of your brother, we'll have to start all over again… somewhere else."

Luigi got out of the cabin, his cell in his hand and walked around to get a signal, then started to dial the FBI's number. He never got to finish it. He never heard or saw what struck him either: Don had hit him violently with the butt of his gun, knocking him out before the man could react.

_One down_. Now he needed to get rid of the other man without putting his brother's life in danger. He quickly searched Luigi, found his car keys, took them and ran to the vehicle. The agent opened the driver's door and activated the opening of the gas tank. He noticed an old sweater on the back seat, he grabbed it and tore up a sleeve. Then he switched on the cigar lighter before moving to the tank and slid the piece of material inside the tank to soak it with gas, leaving just a little piece outside. When he heard the cigar lighter pop out, he took it and pressed it against the sleeve until it caught fire. Then he ran back to the lodge and waited.

He peered through the window at the exact same moment his brother looked outside and their eyes locked for a brief instant, long enough for Charlie to understand that Don had a plan and that something was about to happen. Even though he was expecting something, the professor couldn't help jumping when he heard the explosion.

It startled Adriano too, who rushed outside the cabin. The view of his car on fire seemed to panic him and he looked around for his brother. He soon noticed his still body lying on the ground a few yards away from the car. "Luigi!" he yelled while running as fast as he could towards the unconscious man.

Don pushed the door of the cabin open and ran to his brother to cut the rope holding him to the chair then both men started to sprint towards the road. Unfortunately Adriano saw them. He grabbed his brother's machine gun, put it on automatic and fired at them.

To be con'ted

4


	10. Chapter 10

**CHAPTER TEN**

Don knew they wouldn't make it to the road. His brother wasn't running fast enough, hindered by his broken arm. He tugged Charlie by his jacket and with a head movement, indicated him to carry on further into the woods. He didn't want to be too far away from the road, however, knowing that his team would come looking for them. And the deeper they went, the harder it would be to locate them.

"I knew you'd come," Charlie said, a little out of breath.

"Yeah, well we're not out of the woods yet… No pun intended… We need to find somewhere to hide until David and Colby arrive… They shouldn't be too long now… Hopefully."

Several bullets missed the brothers by a few inches.

"Stay low!" Don turned around and fired a couple of times. "Come on!" He gently pushed Charlie in front of him before glancing over his shoulder. Adriano was gaining ground on them. Scanning the surroundings, he noticed a large bush on their right. Again, he tugged Charlie by his sleeve to direct him towards the shrub.

He briefly checked on Adriano's position. _Yes, they had enough time_.

"Charlie, hide behind the bush. I'll use the branches as camouflage. Mind your arm. You do not move until David, Colby or me tell you it's safe. Understood?"

Without waiting for a reply, he started to cover the mathematician with large branches that were lying on the ground, using the bush as support.

"What about you?" Charlie asked worriedly.

"You stay put. I'm going to lure him away from you." He stepped back to check that his brother was concealed properly. "Okay that should do. Do not move or make a noise and he won't see you. Alright?"

Again, he didn't wait for an answer and started to run to his left, away from the road and towards the path leading to the hill. To make sure Adriano would follow him, he fired several times. He was a little surprised when two machine guns shot back in response. He glanced quickly towards the cabin and noticed that Luigi had come around and was now running in his direction. _Good, if both men were after him, Charlie was safe._

Charlie, hidden under the branches, saw Adriano stopping ten yards away from him. He held his breath and remained immobile, almost paralyzed. His heart was beating so hard that he was afraid Adriano could hear it. A couple of gun shots, and the man started to run in Don's direction. A second shadow passed, much further away this time. _Damn, Luigi was awake! _Their automatic guns kept spitting bullets. The professor knew they were shooting at his brother. He heard some shouting but couldn't make out what they were saying. He recognized the Mansinis' voices. _No sign of Don!_ He wasn't firing or shouting back. Charlie tried to control his breathing. No need to panic, his brother knew what he was doing. Except that he wasn't wearing a bullet proof vest and he was on his own, fighting with a gun against two men armed with automatic weapons. Suddenly the shouting and the gun shots seemed to disappear. No, not disappear, fade. He could still hear something but it was faint. He was tempted to get up to look at what was happening but he remembered Don's orders: _do not move_. Right, but what if David and Colby couldn't find him? What if Don was wounded and needed his help? What if help didn't arrive? What if the Mansinis came back? He decided to wait for ten minutes. After all, the team should be there soon. A ten minute wait was reasonable, no? Or maybe five? Or maybe…?

Don was running up the hill as fast as the steep track was allowing him. The large rocks, running alongside the path, were protecting him from the gun fire. Looking up ahead, henoticed a little ledge then the track seemed to turn abruptly to the left, leading to the other side of the hill. He jogged to the ledge and paused to catch his breath while looking down at the cabin. Fromwhere he was standing, he had a panoramic view of the area and, in different circumstances, he would have enjoyed the scenery. But right now, what interested him most was the position of the two brothers and the helicopter that had landed in the glade. He breathed a deep sigh of relief. Help had arrived.

The Mansinis had noticed the helicopter too and they had also realized that Don was on his own. They didn't have the time to look for the professor and were determined to catch Don. He was their last hope to get their sister back and their passport for freedom. _No, they wouldn't let him escape_. But they needed him alive so they reversed their machine guns to one shot instead of automatic. Luigi aimed at his target. The agent was standing against the wall of the ledge and was hardly visible, making the shot difficult, if not impossible. Luigi lowered his weapon to weigh his options. Then he pointed his gun at the edge of the ledge, quickly calculated the right angle and fired. When he saw the agent fall, he laughed with satisfaction.

The helicopter landed. David and Colby jumped outside and ran to the cabin. As they expected, it was empty.

"Don! Charlie!"

Charlie recognized the voices of the agents and carefully stood up. _No enemy in sight_. He ran towards the agents, waving to catch their attention.

"David, Colby!... God, I'm glad to see you."

"Where's Don?" Colby asked him.

Gun shots echoed. The three men whipped their heads around towards the hill and saw the brothers shooting. From where they stood, they couldn't see their target but they knew it was Don.

"He asked me to stay hidden until you arrived. They have automatic weapons and he…" Charlie tried to explain. His distress was obvious and the agents could understand why.

"He's playing decoy? Against those two guys?" David shook his head in disbelief. "Charlie, go to the helicopter. We're going to bring him back. I promise, okay?" He turned to the pilot and pointed at Charlie before making circles with his index finger, instructing him to take off. Then he orientated the radio attached to his Kevlar vest so that he could talk. "Agent Eppes is being chased by two men armed with automatic weapons. Locate their positions but do not get too close."

The pilot gave him a thumb up, waited for Charlie to get on board and took off while the two agents sprinted in direction of the hill.

It was the second time in less than a week that Charlie was flying in a helicopter and he really disliked it. No only was it noisy but he was subconsciously starting to associate the chopper with danger.

The man in the front seat turned around and shouted to cover the sound of the engine, "You'd better buckle your seat belt properly, Professor. The flight might get a little bumpy."

Surprised, Charlie looked up at the man and the tightening in his chest vanished in a flash.

Don flattened himself against the wall of the ledge and watched, relieved, as his men were joined by his brother. He was about to resume his ascent when something brutally hit his right shoulder, the impact propelling him to the ground. He turned onto his back, hissing with pain, his left hand automatically reaching to support his right shoulder. Pushing with his legs, he managed to drag himself on the ground towards the wall of the ledge and sat gingerly against it. He knew, from the intense burning radiating through his arm and upper body, that he had been shot. He looked at his fingers, they were covered in blood and he could feel the warm liquid trickling down his back and his chest. He blinked several times to clear his sight and looked up. He noticed a large gash on the side of the ledge and understood what had happened: a bullet had hit the rock wall, ricochetedand went right through his shoulder. Footsteps coming up informed him that the brothers were getting dangerously close. He leaned forward to grab his gun that he had dropped during his fall then, with a hand against the wall to steady him, he slowly got up on his feet and started to climb again. He knew he wouldn't get very far in his condition. Pain was reverberating in his shoulder, back, and chest with each of his steps and he was rapidly losing his strength. The blood in his temples was pulsating so fast, it was making him dizzy. He heard the helicopter take off. _Good._ He just hoped they would be there before the Mansini brothers caught him. He had no doubt as to what they would do to him if they managed to get their hands on him.

Suddenly, the track split in two directions. He could either carry on climbing or take a little trail heading down. He was feeling drained and the prospectof more climbing didn't appeal to him at all, so he looked down at the small path. It was a little out in the open but, about thirty yards further down, the vegetation was getting denser and large rocks were covering the ground. _Good place to take cover_. He looked quickly over his shoulder when he heard the brothers' voices.

"Blood! You got him!" Adriano cheered.

"Of course I did. He won't go very far," commented Luigi.

Don couldn't agree more. He had more and more trouble standing on his feet but knew he had no choice. _Where was back-up?_ Trying to ignore the pain and the exhaustion that were invading his body, he proceeded onto the trail, walking as fast as he could while fighting to keep his balance. If he fell, he wouldn't be able to get up again.

David and Colby were hurrying as fast as they could but the track was extremely steep and both men were struggling.

"Why did Don have to choose the way up?" Colby moaned.

"To lure the bad guysas far from Charlie as possible," David reminded him.

"Yeah but surely he could've gone in a different direction," Colby insisted stubbornly. "Do you think he did it on purpose to see if we were in good shape? Or as a revenge for beating him at foot chase last week?"

"Shut up and climb," David ordered him.

The helicopter passed them by and disappeared over the other side of the hill. It seemed to hover there for a minute or two before flying away.

Charlie's voice echoed in their ear pieces. "We've spotted him. He's heading down."

David looked up but there was no one in sight. "Where is he? We can't see him, Charlie."

"He's following a small trail on the south side of the hill. You need to get to the ledge above you then, twenty yards further, you'll see it. He seems seriously hurt… The Mansini brothers are chasing him. Hurry up guys, they're closing in!"

David and Colby ran to the ledge then reached the path. The Mansinis saw them coming and fired at them. This time, their weapons were on automatic and the agents had just the time to duck to avoid being shot. They heard a gun shot and a cry. Carefully, they got up just in time to see Adriano collapsing on the ground and their boss, seated on the floor behind a large rock, aiming at the other brother. But the lead agent missed his target and pushed himself back behind the rock just as Luigi fired back.

Furious, Luigi ran toward the rock behind which Don was hidden. This time, he didn't intend to take any prisoner. David and Colby were too far to shoot or to help their boss. They watched, in anguish, as Luigi approach the rock, tightly holding his machine gun. Suddenly, a single shot resonated in the valley and Mansini fell down dead.

The two agents looked to their left where the sound had come from and saw Ian Edgerton standing on the track, three hundred yards away, holding his rifle with both hands. He waved to them, with an evident look of satisfaction on his face. Colby ran to the Mansinis and took their weapons away before handcuffing Adriano.

David walked carefully towards the rock. He knew that Don was armed, wounded, probably disorientated and was a very good shot. Sinclair wasn't going to take any chances.

As he stepped closer, he called out softly, "Don?"

A low moan answered him.

"Don, it's me, David." He walked round the rock and froze. Don was on the ground, his back against the rock and aiming at him with a shaky hand.

David holstered his gun and raised his hands slightly. Don blinked a couple of times then dropped his arm before resting his head against the rock and closing his eyes. David crouched next to him.

"Don, I'm gonna have a look at your shoulder, okay? You'll let me do that?"

Don nodded vaguely. David undid the buttons of his shirt and gently pulled the material to check the wound. Don hissed softly and coughed.

"Sorry," David apologized.

"How he is?" Colby asked as he joined his partner.

"He's been shot. Help me to lean him forward. I need to see if the bullet went through or if it's still ins-"

"Through," murmured Don. His words were barely audible.

"It went through?" David asked, not sure that was what his boss had said.

Don blinked to confirm. David pressed on each side of the wound to slow down the bleeding. Don squeezed his eyes tight and couldn't hold back a short cry of pain.

David grimaced in compassion and apologized again, "Sorry Don."

"He's lost a lot of blood. Do you think he can move?" Colby asked David.

"I'm…right here… Colb," Don scolded him softly.

"Sorry Boss, I… I'll call the helicopter." He turned around and waved at the pilot to order him to land.

"Charlie?" Don muttered.

"He's fine," David reassured him.

"Good… Luigi?"

"Ian got him at center mass. They shouldn't have pissed him off," David informed him.

"… did?" Don frowned.

David and Colby smiled.

"Oh yeah, they did! No one hurts the Eppes brothers without suffering Ian Edgerton's wrath," Colby joked. "You should've seen the look on his face when he shot Luigi. And before that, when we informed him that they'd taken Charlie."

Don coughed again and his head lolled a little as if he was about to pass out.

David glanced at Colby worriedly then shook Don gently. "Hey, stay with us, okay? The helicopter is here… and so is Charlie."

The professor had jumped out of the chopper and was sprinting in their direction, while the co-pilot was bringing a stretcher.

"Don?" the professor called, alarmed by the pallor of his brother and the quantity of blood on his clothes. "Hey, bro, I'm here. Everything's gonna be fine now. Stay awake, alright?"

Don forced himself to open his eyes and tried to put on his most reassuring smile but he could tell by the look on his brother's face and his men's that he didn't quite succeed.

David and Colby placed their boss on the stretcher before carrying him to the helicopter.

Ian Edgerton walked over to them. "How is he?" he asked with apprehension.

Charlie half-smiled while climbing on board. "He's alive, thanks to you."

"Always a pleasure to help you guys," the sniper replied before shutting the door of the chopper behind the professor.

Colby scratched the back of his neck and said innocently, as they watched the helicopter taking off. "Hmm… Someone will have to ride Don's bike back to his place. I guess that'll be me. I live closer."

"Hey! I'm in charge in Don's absence. I'll do it!"

Ian looked at them and shook his head. "Sorry gentlemen, but I've just saved your boss' life. The bike is mine."

To be cont'ed

4


	11. Chapter 11

**CHAPTER ELEVEN**

Waking up slowly, Don moved his head slightly and felt a movement next to him. Memories of the recent events came back instantaneously and he knew he was in hospital. He opened his eyes and the corners of his mouth started to curl up. Alan was standing on his left, Robin on his right and Charlie at the end of the bed. For some reason, he found that funny and smiled widely.

"Hmm, someone is in a good mood," Robin joked. She kissed him on his brow.

Alan had mixed feelings. He was upset because his son was in hospital… again, but he was also amused by the loopy grin on Don's face. "Yes, looks like someone has received a dose of happy drugs," he replied with the same tone.

"Come on guys. Show some pity. He's in no condition to fight back." Charlie really felt sorry for Don. He had suffered the same attack from Amita and his father a few days earlier. He looked at his brother who was still smiling so, apparently, Don was taking the situation better than he did.

The agent took a careful breath and noticed he didn't feel any pain. _They were right. He was on painkillers! He hated painkillers! _ Not that he liked to be in pain but it was the not-so-in-control part that came with the drugs that always worried him, in case he let his guard down and said something he shouldn't.

They saw his mood changing and Alan became serious again. "It's good to see back with us. You were out for a long time and you lost a lot of blood."

"But you're ok now," Charlie finished as he glared at his father. _What was wrong with him?_ And suddenly, he remembered their conversation about the stabbing. Obviously, the elderly man had trouble coping with this new incident. "I think Dad has one or two things he'd like to tell you," he said.

It was now Alan's turn to glare at Charlie.

The mathematician walked over to his father and murmured, "It's the perfect time, Dad. He's in bed and half-drugged. He won't be able to run away before you're finished and, chances are, he won't remember everything next time he wakes up... Come on, Dad. You need to talk to him."

Alan took a deep breath and nodded. He wasn't sure it was the best time but he definitely needed to have this conversation with his son at some point. Robin followed Charlie outside, a questioning look on her face.

Once alone with his father, Don asked warily, "Am I in trouble?"

Alan looked at him with an amused and affectionate smile. "No Donnie. You're not."

That didn't reassure him much. "But I did something wrong."

The elderly man sat next to Don's bed and took his hand, making sure not to touch his IV. He shook his head. "No, you did nothing wrong, son."

Don frowned. He really couldn't see what was going on then, and those drugs didn't help him to think. "So what is it?"

Alan breathed deeply through the nose and pursed his lips. It was harder than he thought. No wonder his eldest had problems confiding in anyone when his own father couldn't either.

Don looked at his dad without a word and squeezed his hand gently to encourage him.

Alan smiled at him warmly and said, "No, you did nothing wrong, Don. I'm… I'm just trying to adjust to the fact that I almost lost you a few months ago. And to see you hurt again… It's hard to… I'm just scared that…" He sighed and closed his eyes, unable to carry on. He just couldn't say it.

"You're scared that I could die before you?" Don said quietly.

Alan stared at him and nodded. "No parent should outlive their children."

"Dad… Listen, I know I scared everyone… me included!… Believe me, I'm trying to adjust too, you know. These last past three years have been a bit… I don't know... like a puzzle with missing pieces that I've been trying to find. The… stabbing was like a turning point in my life… almost a revelation… no, a transition rather. I mean… I'm still looking for some missing pieces but some others I found."

"Like what?" Alan asked, both relieved and curious.

Don squinted to try to explain how he was feeling. It was difficult because he didn't know himself. "Not quite an internal peace; more like a different approach to life." He stopped to think then nodded and said to his father as much as to himself, "No… a part of me is definitely more at peace."

"And the other part?"

Don laughed softly. "One thing at a time, Dad. It took me forty years to reach that state of mind..." He became serious again. "What I'm trying to say is that I want different things in my life, now. Work isn't everything anymore. Don't get me wrong, it's still important but… I… I want so much more. I'm expecting so much more from this existence. And I'm planning on working on it, even if, right now, it's not clear what I want."

"It's good to hear it, Don. I just wish you'd stop taking so many risks."

"I don't take as many as I used too." He stopped short, realizing that he shouldn't have said that but it was too late. _Damned drugs! He knew that would happen!_ He carried on, a little more cautious, "Not that I took many before."

"Of course not," Alan answered dryly. His eyes locked on his son's. "Listen, I can't expect you to change radically. I don't want you to, actually. It's the way you are and I'm used to it. No, what worried me was the reasons you were taking those risks… So I'm glad…, and relieved, to hear that you've found some serenity, at last. I think I will be able to find some too, now."

A knock on the door interrupted them. It was pushed half open and Colby's head appeared.

"May we come in?"

"Please do. I haven't had the chance to thank you for saving my sons' lives," replied Alan

"No problem, Mr. Eppes. We would do it again tomorrow without hesitation." When he saw Alan's face change, the agent added quickly, "In a manner of speaking, of course."

Charlie and Robin came back, soon followed by Amita then Liz, Nikki and Ian Edgerton.

"Man, there are more people in this room than at the FBI during working hours," Don stated ironically. Then he returned into full professional mode. "What happened to Isabella Mansini?"

"She's going to be charged with second degree murder. She admitted to have told her brother about the getaway car. They booby-trapped it, knowing that would intensify the war gang. She also corroborated what Adriano told Charlie in the cabin."

"They planned this blood bath just to take over the three gangs and control the whole area," Liz confirmed, appalled.

"Apparently, it wasn't their first attempt. They tried something similar in New York but things went sour and they decided to come to LA. They changed their identities and raised their ambitions… The crazy thing is: it could've worked. We were their..." David turned to Charlie. "What did you call it last time? Black swan?"

Charlie smiled, amused and proud that the agent remembered one of his analogies. "Yes, black swan. They didn't expect the software that protects from identity fraud to be a trap from the FBI."

"The Mansinis tried to take advantage of it, though," Colby carried on. "Isabella convinced Mickey that the Pumas had given them up to the police. "

"So, it was the Lobos who exterminated the Pumas? Not the 771?" Don was surprised.

"Yes," David confirmed. "Apparently, Adriano was right about one thing: they were very good at manipulating people."

"What about Mickey?"

"LAPD managed to catch him. He's in custody for the moment but I'll make sure he's charged with murder. Same thing for Manuel Ramirez and Co, the leaders of the 771." Robin didn't intend to let any of these guys go free. "I'll do what it takes but they're all going to jail," she announced with a tone that left no doubt about her intentions.

Don rested his head against the pillow. "Good job everyone."

"When are you leaving the hospital, Eppes?" Ian asked.

"Tomorrow morning hopefully."

"I would go for the afternoon, if I were you, Don," Alan advised. "Then, complete rest for a whole week," he reminded his son with a severe tone, knowing that Don already had other plans in mind. "Remember what you've just told me about work? So take the time to heal properly before rushing after more armed felons."

Don smiled lazily. The drugs were kicking in again and he was fighting hard to keep his eyes open. Eventually, he gave up, closed his eyes and sighed.

Silently, everyone left the room, except Alan and Robin who sat, as comfortably as possible, in the chairs by his side.

Charlie looked one last time at his brother before closing the door behind him. He stared at him to reassure himself. He knew he was going to be alright but, twice in less than a week, he had flown his brother to hospital and, even though the agent had managed to stay conscious during most of the second flight, telling him he was going to be fine, the mathematician had been terrified of losing his brother. He suddenly realized that his father was not the only one who had trouble coping with Don's work and wounds. He shut the door slowly and walked away. He had something to do.

0123456789876543210

Charlie turned the key quietly and pushed the door slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible, expecting to find his brother sleeping on the couch. Don was on the sofa alright but he was busy reading something. The professor walked over to him, his head slightly cocked, curious. Before Charlie could get close enough to see what his brother was doing, Don whipped his head around, closed the folder he was holding and, instinctively, hid it behind his back before looking up. Seeing it was his younger brother, he sighed with relief and put the folder back on his lap.

"You're working," Charlie stated accusingly.

"No, not really. David asked me to have a look at a case. He wants my opinion, that's all. Nothing more."

"Mmhmm. You know that Dad's gonna be mad at you if he learns you're working."

Don looked up at his younger brother and squinted. "He'll only know if you tell him," he said with a dangerous tone but his eyes were humorous.

Charlie saw the look on his brother's face and smiled mischievously: it was like a trip back in time, when they were kids and kept squabbling. "Ok, but that's gonna cost you, bro."

Don smiled back and replied, still with the same dangerous tone. "Oh, I'd be very careful about what I said if I were you, little brother."

"Come on, you're not exactly in a condition to threaten anyone right now."

Don put the folder next to him on the sofa and slowly got up, pretending to be upset. "Could you say that again?"

Charlie started to laugh, his right hand in front of him in defense. "Okay, okay. Truce… Look at us! Both wearing a splint and trying to fight like kids. It's almost pathetic."

"Hey! Talk for yourself!" Don retorted before laughing too. He had to admit, it was funny. Both brothers were standing face to face, like a reverse image: Charlie with his left arm immobilized and Don with his right arm.

Still laughing, Don shook his head and sat back. "Ok, I'll let you slide this time… What's that?" he asked, pointing at the two padded envelopes his brother was holding.

Charlie looked down at the parcels before replying, "My message to Amita. You want to hear it?"

"Uh Charlie, it's too personal. I mean… It's between you and Amita."

"Yeah, but it was your idea so…" He sat on the armchair opposite his brother. "It wasn't simple at first but once I started, words came easily."

Don smiled and nodded to show he understood. "I know."

Charlie fidgeted in his chair and leaned slightly forward. "May I… May I ask you something?"

Don gestured him to go ahead.

"What gave you the idea to record a message to Robin?"

Don bit his lower lip and looked down, visibly uncomfortable. He hesitated for a short instant then started, "After being stabbed, I realized how fragile life was. It can stop just like that… at any time." He sighed and ran his good hand through his hair. "I wanted… needed to tell her how I felt about her, to let her know what she meant to me… in case… you know… something happened and…" he trailed off and winced. That was not the kind of conversation he wanted to have with his brother, or anyone else for that matter.

A sad look crossed Charlie's face. "I know what you mean… I… " He cleared his throat. "That's why I recorded that for you," he said, holding out one of the envelopes.

Don stared at him, taken aback and, after a couple of seconds, took the envelope.

"Do me a favor: listen to it when I'm not there, ok? It's already embarrassing enough."

Don was still trying to recover from his surprise. "Oh! Sure… Why… why did you record _me_ a message?"

"You remember telling me once that I intimidated you?"

Don nodded. _Oh yes! He remembered!_

"Well, I can say the same about you."

The agent's eyebrows shot up. "I intimidate you? Even now? Oh, come on Charlie. We're not kids anymore."

The professor half-smiled. "It's not a question of age, Don. You're my big brother. I'm proud of who you are and what you do. But sometimes…Well, let's just say that you are not the easiest person to talk to when the subject of the conversation is _you_. Not to mention that, when you feel threatened, you tend to run away."

"Threatened? Should I be worried about what's on it?" he inquired, lifting the DVD slightly.

"No. It's the opposite, actually."

Don frowned, totally mystified. "Charlie, you can talk to me at any time… about anything… You know that, don't you?"

"Yeah, but there are some things that are difficult to discuss."

Don's frown deepened. "Like what?"

"Life …and death. The fear of seeing you die. It took us six years to become close again. During that time, I have learned to appreciate what you do, who you really are… I just needed to express my feelings through words… And as you said, sometimes it's easier when the person is not in front of you."

Don nodded several times slowly. "Ok." Then he smiled cheekily. "Now, who's the big softy?"

Charlie got up and protested, "Hey, I don't pretend to be a tough guy. I'm just a mathematician."

"Yeah, I guess I should be thankful. You could've written me an equation or created an algorithm instead." He became serious again and looked at his brother in the eyes, touched. "Thanks, Charlie. "

A car stopped in the driveway and Charlie quickly glanced outside.

"It's Dad."

Don leaped to his feet. "Oh man! I'm dead if he sees that I was working." He grabbed his folder and rushed upstairs just as Alan entered the house.

"Hey Charlie... What's up with your brother? Is he alright?" He stared at Charlie suspiciously. "You weren't arguing, were you?"

Charlie looked at the stairs thoughtfully. He half-smiled and replied, talking more to himself than to his father, "No. We're good… Never been better."

THE END

4


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